Secret Child
by jewelzgirl
Summary: AU: James Potter had a secret. A secret that could change the course of history. How will his secret daughter and his famous son survive Hogwarts and Voldemort.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and his world, I just play with it.

* * *

 **Prologue**

Everyone knew that James Potter wanted to date Lily Evans. He had been smitten with her since he was eleven. However she had been clear how she felt about him. Yet he persisted and continued to try and capture her affection until she finally caved. No one knew about the time he gave up on her.

In the spring of his sixth year, James came to the conclusion that Lily would never give him the time of day, so he started to look around at the other girls at Hogwarts. He had to admit that there were a lot of very beautiful girls. One seventh year Gryffindor caught his eye, and the slender young women showed some interest in him too. They started to secretly see each other, mostly meeting up in empty closets or classrooms.

They both knew there was no future in their relationship. Although they were physically attracted to each other, there was nothing there to carry their relationship beyond Hogwarts. The day before leaving Hogwarts, the two of them agreed to part ways. They both thought that they would never see each other again.

However a week into summer vacation, James answered the door to find her standing in front of him.

"Diana? What are doing here?" James stared at the young woman. He was very confused. She looked at him and he realized something wasn't right. Her dark hazel eyes were red and puffy, as if she had recently been crying. Her normally beautiful and well-kept chestnut hair was disheveled and messily tied up in a ponytail.

"Can we talk please? Some place private?" She begged him, not wanting to have this conversation on the doorstep.

"Sure. We can talk in the study." He led her in. Just then Sirius came out of the kitchen and was startled to see Diana in their home. He barely knew the older Gryffindor, and as far as he knew James barely knew here too.

"What is going on?" He asked, seeing his pseudo brother leading the older girl into the study. James answered his question by slamming the door in his face. Diana placed a silencing charm on the door to prevent any unwanted ears from hearing their conversation.

"Would you like a drink, I can have one of the house elves to bring something." James offered as the two of them awkwardly sat on the couch. Diana just shook her head. They sat in silence for a couple of minute, nearly driving James mad.

"There is no good way to start this conversation." Diana started. James's stomach dropped. Nothing good could come from a conversation starting this way. She looked up and made eye contact with him. "I'm pregnant."

He stared at her for a couple of minutes before what she said register.

"Can you repeat that please?" Hoping he had misheard her.

"I'm pregnant," she repeated, trying not to bite his head off.

"With a baby?" He stupidly asked.

"Of course with a baby. What else would I be pregnant with?" She snapped at him.

"And I assume that you are telling me because…" He trailed off, knowing what was coming but not ready for it.

"Because you're the father." She finally broke eye contact with him.

"Are you sure?" He knew he made a mistake as soon as the words were out of his mouth. She stood up and started to pace the room, obviously upset.

"Of course I'm sure. You're the only one I have ever slept with." She continued to pace as the tears started to fall again. James got up and hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. She did not return the hug, but she at least did not pull away. After a bit she calmed down and the two of them returned to the couch.

"Look James, I did not come here to try and trap you in a relationship or try get you to marry me. I figured since you were the father you had the right to know." James looked at the beautiful young women sitting next to him. He did not know what to say. Their whole world had just been turned upside down.

"I know you would never do that. But we are having a child together. What are we going to do?"

"WE are not going to do anything. I am the one having this baby. You will go back to Hogwarts and finish your last year. You will graduate and move on with your life."

"You mean you don't want me to be a part of you life anymore, a part of our baby's life?"

"Honestly, right now, no I don't. James we both knew that our relationship was purely physical. And we both know that you are not father material. Maybe if you grow up a bit. I wanted you to know, but I expect nothing from you." Her word stung. She did not want him to be a part of the child's life at all. He was not sure what to think of that.

"At least let me help out financially. Let me provide for the child. And I will work on growing up so I can prove to you I can be a father." She smiled. She had not asked for money or anything out of James. She did not want his world to change. She wanted him to still have his life, the way he planned it. But she had to admit that having him offer to help support her and the baby was a bit of a relief.

They shared one last hug before she left. Unbeknownst to the two of them, they would never see each other again.

James did grow up his seventh year. He started to mature and mellow out. He wanted to prove to Diana that he could be a father. His behavior though also impressed a young red head Gryffindor. The girl of his dreams finally acknowledged him, and the two fell in love. They married and James was able to truly show he could be a father by having a son with Lily.

James did faithfully send money to Diana and his daughter every month. Diana had sent him a letter soon after she gave birth to inform him of her name. Abigail Fay. He even set up a trust vault for her for when she started Hogwarts. He never told anyone about his daughter though.

Just when Diana thought about contacting James and introducing him to his daughter, the Potter family had to go into hiding.

October of 1981 was the last month Diana received her monthly stipend. She cried when she saw the papers declaring the father of her daughter dead. She mourned for her first love, crying also because her daughter would never know her father, and a little boy would never know either of his parents.

Many things happened the days following the attack on the Potter family. Sirius Black was arrested and sent to Azkaban without a trial. James and Lily's wills were sealed before they were read and executed. Harry Potter seemed to disappear from the wizarding world as the Boy-Who-Lived legends started to pop up.

A young witch and her daughter also disappeared from the wizarding world, however most did not know about this occurrence.


	2. Abigail

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

 **Abigail**

Abigail Fay Hayden sat at the table eating her breakfast enjoying her summer break. The young raven haired eleven year old sat and watched as her mother waved her wand and cleaned up the dished from breakfast. Abby knew that her family was special, unfortunately she could not tell anyone.

Abby and her mom were both witches. Although Abby did not know how to use her magic yet, she knew that she too was a witch like her mother. She knew that sometime this summer she would be receiving an acceptance letter from Hogwarts, at least she hoped she would. Then she would get a wand like her mom and be able to use magic. She also looked forward to going to school with children just like her, and maybe she would actually have friends.

Because Abby and her mom lived in the muggle world, she had attended a muggle school since she was five. She hated it. The children made fun of her because she did not know whom her father was. The girls also laughed at her because her black hair was always crazy and unmanageable. Normally she just put her hair in a ponytail, but it still was a bit crazy. They also made fun of her because weird things happened around her. It was not her fault it was just her magic. But she could not tell anyone that.

"Abby dear, I need you to go get your shoes on. I have to drop you off at Grandma's before I go to work." Abby got up and slowly obeyed her mom. As she started to leave the room a large owl flew through the open window. It had a large official looking letter. Abby could not believe it. Her letter was here! She ran up to the owl and removed the letter quickly as her mother gave the owl some water.

"Look mom! It's from Hogwarts. Can you believe it? I got my letter!" She cried as she jumped up and down. Diana laughed at her daughter's antics. It actually reminded her of James a bit.

"I see the letter dear, but I still have to get to work on time today. Take the letter with you and read it at Grandma's." She grabbed the container of Floo powder and tried to usher her daughter to the fireplace.

"When can we go to Diagon Alley?" Abby asked her mother.

"I have Friday off. We will go then. But now we are going to Grandma's"

"Will I get my wand there?"

"Abigail! Let's go. Now!" Abby reluctantly obeyed her mother.

For the next few days all Abby could talk about was Hogwarts. She was so excited. It drover her mother and grandmother crazy. Finally Friday came and Abby anxiously waited for her mother so they could go to Diagon Alley.

"Come on Mom, we have to get all of my things!" She cried as her mother was putting the morning dishes away.

"Alright lets go." Diana chuckled at her daughter's behavior. She could not fault her though. She had been just as excited when she received her letter. Every eleven-year-old witch or wizard is excited to start Hogwarts. They Flooed to the Leaky Caldron and went to the back alley that would lead to Diagon Alley.

Abby was in shock. She had never been to Diagon Alley before. Her mother had told her about it, but they had never come. It was amazing. Her hazel eyes tried to absorb everything in, but there was just too much to see.

"First we have to go to Gringotts. I will have to get some money out of my vault." Diana said as she dragged her daughter along.

"You have a vault?" Abby asked.

"Yes, I do. I have not used it in a while. I don't use wizarding money much." Being back in the wizarding world was a bit strange for Diana. She had left because no one wanted to hire a young witch that had gotten pregnant out of wedlock and right out of Hogwarts. After James had died and stopped sending her money, she had no choice but to find a job anywhere she could. Although waiting tables at a small restaurant was not what she thought she would do after she graduated, nor did it pay well, she at least was able to take care of her daughter.

When they come to the snowy white marble building Abby stopped to marvel at the beautiful building. Once again her mother gave a chuckle and had to drag her inside. They approached the counter where a goblin sat.

"I would like to make a withdrawal from my vault." Diana addressed the goblin in front of her.

"Name?" The goblin asked

"Diana Hayden."

"Do you have your key?" The goblin asked looking the woman over.

"Unfortunately I do not. I lost it a while back." Diana did not like interacting with the goblins. She did not think them beneath her like many wizards did, but she did think they were unpleasant.

"Prick your finger and place a drop of blood here." The gobbling gruffly handed her a piece of parchment and a silver knife. She did as she was told and the paper revealed her name, her family tree going back three generations and her vault information.

"All seems to be in order. I will get you another key. Would you like to visit your daughter's trust vault?" The goblin asked as he looked over the paper.

"My daughter's vault? I did not know she had one." Diana was confused. Abby looked up at her mother wondering what was going on. How could someone have a vault and not know it? The goblin summoned a paper.

"According to our records a trust vault was opened March 1st of 1978 by James Potter. His instructions were to give her access to her vault when she turned eleven to insure she could buy what she needed for Hogwarts."

Diana eyes started to tear up. James had not abandoned his daughter. He was more then willing to take care of her. Sometimes she felt like she made a mistake breaking up with him. She looked down at her daughter who had both her father's unruly black hair and light hazel eyes. Everything else was all her, but the hair and eyes were all James.

"Yes we will visit her vault as well. Thank you." With that the goblin went through a door and came back with two gold keys.

"This way please." He led them through another door and into a stone passage. The goblin whistled and a cart came up the tracks. The three of them climbed into it and they were off. Abby loved the ride down to the vaults. It was like the rollercoaster she had gone on last summer when her mother had taken her to an amusement park.

They came to a stop in front of a small vault. The goblin opened it to reveal a small pile of money. Diana grabbed a few Galleons, leaving most of the money in the vault. She had a feeling that James had left plenty for Abby so she wanted to make sure she had enough left in the vault for a later date. After that they got back into the cart and went a little further down. Once they reached the next vault the goblin once again opened it for them. Diana and Abby just stared at the mounds of Galleons, columns of Sickles, and heaps of Knuts.

"Is this really all mine?" Abby asked her mother.

"Yes it is dear. Your father left it for you." She grabbed enough money for Abby to buy her first year things and a little extra spending money for her. Diana had always been thankful that Abby was not greedy, but she knew that it hurt sometimes that she could not get some things that she wanted. Now she would be able to at least get something she wanted.

Abby was shocked. Her mother never talked about her father. She watched her mother grab some money and placed it into a small black bag. Then her mother handed her the bag.

"This is your money. We will first buy what you need. Then whatever is left over is yours to spend on whatever you want. However it must last until next summer." Abby grabbed the bag and tied it securely at her waist. She smiled at her mother and the two of them climbed back into the cart to return to the surface.

Once they left Gringotts, Abby was overwhelmed with the sights again. She did not know where to begin. She looked to her mother for guidance. With another chuckle Abby was led to a shop.

"How about we get some robes first. Madam Malkin's is the place to go." They walked into the store and a cheery squat witch greeted them.

"Hogwarts, Dear?" She asked as she saw Abby. It was that time of year when Hogwarts students started to come and get what they needed for the next school year. Abby nodded her head and was immediately ushered to the back of the shop and placed on a stool. Another kind looking witch slipped a robe over Abby's head and started to pin it up. Next to Abby stood another young girl getting fitted.

"Hi. Are you a Hogwarts student too?" The dark skinned girl asked.

"Yes, first year," Abby managed to squeak out. She became very shy all of a sudden.

"Me too. I am really excited. I can't wait until September 1st. Have you gone to get your wand yet?" She animatedly started to ask, causing the witch who was fitting her to scowl at her.

"No not yet." Abby again replied quietly.

"Just you wait. It is super exciting. Do you like Quidditch?"

"I have actually never watched a game. I have heard about it though." Abby was starting to feel embraced.

"It is lots of fun. I want to try out for the house team someday. I am sure you will like it. And even if you don't that's ok too. We all like different things, right?" Abby was relieved and started to relax. The girl seemed nice.

"Your right. What house do you think you will be in?" Abby asked the first thing that came to her mind.

"I am not sure. I am not a brainiac so probably not Ravenclaw. I really would rather not be in Slytherin. Either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff probably. How about you?"

"Well my mom was in Gryffindor. I would be ok with Hufflepuff too."

"Maybe we will be in the same house together. Wouldn't that be fun? Hey! How about we meet at the train station on September 1st. The ride will be more fun with a friend." The girl smiled at Abby, and Abby could not believe what she was hearing. They had just met and this girl wanted to be her friend.

"Sure." Abby smiled back. The other girl was done being fitted and she jumped off the stool.

"My name is Alicia by the way. Alicia Spinnet. What's your name?" Alicia asked.

"Abby. Abigail Hayden." They two girls smiled, happy to have a friend.

"Great. Is it ok if I owl you?" Abby nodded in response. "Alright, that's settled. I have to go. My parents are waiting for me." She waved goodbye and left Abby there a bit stunned. She could not believe she had just made her first real friend. She was so happy, but part of her was wondering if she would lose her new friend if she reviled that she did not know who her father was. She decided to put that thought to the side.

Soon she was finished and she had a set of Hogwarts uniform robes and some casual clothes, none of which were second hand. This was the first time she had brand new clothes. She never minded wearing second hand clothes, but she liked the feel of having something new.

"Where are we going next?" Diana asked her daughter.

"Can we go get my wand?" Abby pleaded with her mom.

"Alright then, to Olivanders it is." The two of them walked happily to the shabby looking shop. They walked in and a tinkling bell rang, acknowledging their presence.

"Good Morning," an old man greeted them. "Ah, Miss Hayden, so nice to see you again. Eight and three quarters made of pine. And who is this?" His pale silver eyes turned to Abby.

"This is my daughter, Abigail Hayden. We are here to get her wand." Diana pushed her daughter forward. Mr. Olivander looked her over as if he was trying to figure something out. Then he pulled out a tape measure.

"Which is your wand arm?" Abby held up her right hand. With that he started to measure her, eventually leaving the tape measure to continue while he searched in the stacks of boxes for a wand. He came back making the tape measure stop and handing her a wand

"Try this one. Cherry and phoenix feather. Eleven inches. Give it a wave." Abby took it and waved it like she had seen her mother do countless of times. Nothing happened and Mr. Olivander took it from her hand. He handed her a few other, each with the same result. "Cedar and unicorn hair. Nine and a half inches."

This time when Abby grabbed it, something felt different. She gave it a wave and colorful sparks came from the tip of the wand. She smiled at her mother.

"Very good, very good." He took the wand and put it back into the box he had removed it from. "Cedar wands pick those who are loyal and protective of those they love. With the unicorn hair, this wand will be very loyal to you and serve you well." He wrapped it up and handed it back to Abby as Diana paid for the wand.

The two witches left the store very happy. They finished their shopping mid afternoon. Diana's hands were full of bags and a new trunk would be delivered to their house next week. Diana was very happy seeing her daughter preparing for Hogwarts, and not having to buy used and battered things. Not that she was ashamed of buying second hand things, she was just happy that for once in her life, Abby could have everything she wanted.

"Mom, before we go home, can I get a pet?" Abby asked her mother.

"Of course. What would you like to get?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think I would like a toad. So either and owl or a cat." Abby excitedly led her mom to the shop that had several animals in its windows. Abby looked over the owls first. She knew that owls were useful, but none of them caught her eye. She then went over the cats. She looked them over. There was a box that had six kittens in it. When she peered in a pair of brilliant blue eyes looked up at her.

"Mom, I want this one!" Abby shouted to her mom. She picked up the small pale kitten. The sleek Siamese kitten started to purr as soon as Abby picked her up. Diana smiled at her daughter gently holding the kitten.

"Looks like she likes you. I guess she is the one. Alright lets get what we need for her. I think I might also get an owl so I can send you letter." With that mother and daughter each got a pet. They went home with their arms full of bags, parcels, an owl cage and a cat curled up in a covered basket.

The two witched arrived home with a sense of satisfaction and yet exhaustion. Their day had been long. They put all of Abby's things into her room and went into the kitchen. Diana started to make dinner while Abby was on floor playing with her new kitten.

"Do you have a name for her?" Diana asked her daughter. She smiled as the eleven year old gently played with the small kitten.

"I was thinking I would call her Asha, you know after that story you used to tell me about the magical fountain. I always liked the name Asha." Abby turned to her kitten and spoke softly to her. "What do you think? Do you like the name Asha?" And with that the kitten rubbed her head against Abby's hand and started to purr loudly.

"I think she likes it" Diana laughed. "Did you know that Asha means 'hope'?"

"Really?" Abby looked at her mother with wide eyes. "What does my name mean?" Diana paused for just a bit. She knew this would open a door she was not sure she was ready to open. However she knew it needed to happen before Abby went to Hogwarts.

"Abigail means 'father's joy'," Diana said. Abby thought about that for a minute. She did not know how she felt about that. She did not know her father.

"Mom, you said that my father left me the money in that vault. Who is my father?" Her hazel eyes pierced her mother. With a sigh Diana sat on the floor across from her daughter.

"In my last year of Hogwarts I dated this guy who was a year behind me. We got along pretty well. However when I graduated we decided to split up. He still had another year at Hogwarts and I was going to start Healer training. However a week into the summer I found out I was pregnant with you. I did not want to force him into a relationship. So I told him I did not think he was mature enough to be a father. Well to be honest he probably wasn't at the time, but I was an idiot for not letting him be in your life. He insisted that he at least help financial, and so he sent me money every month."

Abby listened intently to her mother. She soaked up all the information she could and held back her questions, not wanting her mother to stop.

"Your father never forgot you. However during his seventh year he fell in love with someone. They married right out of collage and a couple of years later they had a son."

"WAIT! I have a brother? Well I guess he would my half-brother right?" Abby couldn't help herself. Diana smiled softly at her daughter.

"You do, but things got a little complicated. You see your father and his family were targeted by You-Know-Who. Unfortunately one night your father and his wife were killed." Abby felt like she knew this story. Diana paused seeing her daughter thinking. Abby was a pretty smart girl. She would probably figure it out on her own.

"The goblin at Gringotts said the bank account was opened by James Potter… Is he my father?" Diana nodded her head. She gave her daughter a couple more seconds and soon Abby's eyes widened in shock.

"Yes your father is James Potter, Harry Potter's father."

"So Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, is my half brother?" Abby asked skeptically.

"He is, however no one knew the fact that James was your father. I told people I got pregnant when I went to visit my cousins in France. Only James and your grandparents knew the truth."

"So even if I said he was my father, no one would believe me." Abby said quietly.

"Unfortunately, yes. There is a way to prove he is your father, but without him, you will have to wait until you are seventeen. For now it will just have to be a secrete between the two of us." She gave her daughter a sad smile. Before she knew it her daughter jumped on her and was hugging her.

"Thanks for telling me mom." And with that Abby scooped up her kitten and went into her room to think for a bit. She finally had the answer she was looking for, but it really did not change anything. If her father had been alive things might be different, but she would never know her father.


	3. Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

 _The Italic words are from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone._

* * *

 **Hogwarts**

The rest of the summer went by quickly. Abby spent her days reading her Hogwarts books, playing with her kitten and writing letter to her new friend Alicia. Before she knew it she found herself at King's Cross station. Her mother was pulling her trunk while she carried the basket that held her kitten.

"Here we are dear. Do you remember how to get to the platform?" Diana asked her daughter. Abby nodded, unable to form words. The two of them went through the barrier together.

In front of Abby stood a beautiful red train. She stood there a bit staring at it until her mother pulled her toward the train.

"If you forgot anything I can send it with Erebus. Don't forget to write me and tell me what house you are sorted into. It does not have to be tonight or even tomorrow, but sometime this week. Be good and listen to your teachers." Diana started to cry as she looked at her little girl. Abby hugged her mom tightly.

"I love you mom." She whispered. Hogwarts was all she could talk and think about for weeks, but now that the time to go was here, she was nervous. She wasn't sure she wanted to leave her mom.

"I love you too." Diana responded.

"Abby! There you are!" Alicia shouted as she ran toward her friend. "I have been looking for you."

"We just got here not to long ago." Abby quickly wiped her tears off her face. Alicia, who had already said her tearful goodbye to her parents, did not comment about the tears on her face.

"Well you girls better get on and find a compartment. The train leaves in ten minutes. You can wave to me from your window." She pushed the girls forward toward the train.

The girls found an empty compartment near the end of the train. They stowed away the trunks and placed the basket on one of the seats. The girls looked out the window and found their parents. The train whistled giving them a warning that it would be departing soon. When the train started to move, Abby and Alicia waved to their parents until they could no longer see the station.

"I can't believe it. This is it. We are on our way to Hogwarts." Alicia squealed. Abby smiled at her friend. It was an exciting but also frightening experience.

"Do you mind if I let my cat out. She is not happy being inside the basket."

"Sure. I want to see her." As Abby let her out Alicia closed the door to the compartment so the kitten wouldn't escape. Alicia fawned over the gangly Siamese, who seemed to enjoy the attention. All of a sudden the compartment door opened.

"Hey, could we share this compartment with you guys." A tall red haired boy asked.

"Most of the other compartments are pretty full." Said an identical copy of the other boy. Alicia and Abby stared at the twins for a little bit before they realized they were being rude.

"Sure come on in. It's just the two of us, so it would be nice to have some company." Alicia invited the boys in. They closed the door behind them before the adventurous kitten could escape. "I'm Alicia. This is Abby." Abby gave a small wave.

"We're Fred and George," The twins said simultaneously.

"Who is Fred and who is George?" Abby asked, even though she probably would not be able to tell the difference.

"I'm Fred and He's George. But don't worry if you can't tell us apart."

"Yeah, our own mother can't tell us apart."

"She knits us sweaters with out initials on them"

"So she knows who is who."

"However we constantly switch them"

"so she never really knows."

The girls were laughing hard at this. They could tell already that it was going to be a fun ride. The twins had a way of putting people at ease.

"So tell us a bit about yourselves?" one of the twins asked.

"I live near Dorset. Both my parents are magical. I'm an only child. I used to beg my mom for a brother or a sister, but I never got one." Alicia said.

"Be happy about that," The other twin commented with a smile. Then the compartment door opened again.

"There you two are. I'm glad you found some people to sit with." The older boy said. "Hi, I'm Charlie"

"He's our older brother."

"He's a sixth year Gryffindor."

"He's also the seeker and captain of the Quidditch team."

The girls were snickering at the back and forth commentary. Charlie shook his head at the twin's antics.

"If you need anything, I am in a compartment near the front. Enjoy the ride." Charlie waved and closed the door behind him.

"He's not bad a for a brother."

"He's better then perfect Percy"

"So you have two brother?" Abby asked.

"No, we have four brother and a sister."

"Bill graduated last year,"

"Then there is Charlie and Percy who is a third year,"

"Ron is two years younger,"

"And Ginny if three years younger," The twins took turns explaining.

"That's a lot of people in your house," Alicia marveled.

"It's a bit crazy, but we always have someone to play pranks on." This brought some more giggling from the girls.

"How about you Abby?"

"I live in Little Norton with my mom. We live in the muggle world."

"Is your mom a muggle?" one of the twins asked.

"No she is a witch."

"So your dad is a muggle?" Abby was afraid she would have to explain about her dad.

"I don't know who my dad is," Abby lied. She figured it would be easier to say this then to try and explain the complicated situation.

"So you're an only child too?" The twin said, just passing over the statement. Abby was surprised at how accepting they were of this. It took her a bit before she nodded.

The four of them had fun continues to talking about their families, their interests and anything that came to mind. They also entertained themselves with teasing the kitten until she wore out and fell asleep on Abby's lap. Abby was so relieved to finally find friends who she could just be herself with. The trolley came by at one point. Alicia and Abby bought some treats to share with their new friends. Overall it was a fun train ride.

As the sky started to get dark another red head boy came into the compartment. There was no doubt that he was related to the twins, however he seemed a bit stiff.

"There you two are. The train should be arriving soon, so you better put your robes on," The boys said pompously.

"Robes? George did we pack any robes?"

"You know I think I forgot those. Guess we will just have to go naked."

The other boy huffed and left the compartment. The twins laughed.

"That is Percy. He is hoping to be a Prefect and Head Boy."

"He also has no sense of humor."

Too soon the train started to slow down. Abby, with the help of her friend, managed to get Asha back into the basket. The kitten was not happy with it and was yowling very loudly. When the train stopped the four children anxiously left the train leaving their luggage behind like they were told to do. Soon they heard a loud booming voice.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here." A giant of a man was yelling out. Abby nervously followed her friend over to the towering man. She had never seen someone so large. He also had very wild hair. But when they got closer she noticed a smile on his face and his black eyes seemed to twinkle. She relaxed a bit seeing the kind face on the large man.

Once all of them were gathered together he had them all get into boats. The four new friends hurried to get into a boat together. The boats started to move forward on their own. It was a spectacular view seeing Hogwarts from the boats. It was something Abby knew she would never forget.

Once they had gotten back on land, the giant man lead them up to the castle where a very stern looking witch greeted them. She led them to a small empty chamber near the Great Hall.

 _"_ _Welcome to Hogwarts," She began. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting it a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room._

She then went on to tell a little bit about the Houses, House points and the House cup.

" _The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."_

When she finished her welcome speech the professor left the first year students alone in the room. Abby looked around and noticed that everyone looked nervous. Alicia standing next to her was a little pale. Everyone knew that you were sorted into a House, but no one ever talked about how it happened.

Abby did not know how long they were in the small room, but the stern professor came back and led them into the Great Hall. The first years were lined up in front. Sitting before them was a stool and a tattered hat. The whole school appeared to be staring at it, so Abby felt like she should too. Then one of the seams ripped open and the hat started to sing. It sang a song about the four Houses and the attributes that are associated with each house. When the hat finished it bowed to each of the tables and everyone applauded. The stern witch took out a long piece of parchment and started to call each student to the stool to try on the hat.

Abby watched as the few students who were called before her stepped forward, sat on the stool and placed the hat on their head. Soon she heard her name being called.

"Hayden, Abigail"

Abby stepped forward. When she placed the hat on her head the world around her disappeared and she heard a quiet voice speaking.

"Hmm, interesting. I see you have a loyal heart. Even your wand acknowledges you as a true loyal person. A trait that is valued in Hufflepuff. However you also have your father's spirit in you."

"You know who my father is?" Abby asked quietly.

"There is very little that is hidden from me. You have his spirit and you are determined to live up to your name, 'father's joy'. Because of that I think it will be GRYFFINDOR."

Abby realized that the last word was shouted out so everyone could hear. She took the hat off and walked to the loudest table. She was the first one sorted into Gryffindor. She quickly sat down and watched the rest of the sorting. She anxiously waited to see where Alicia would be placed. They both had agreed that even if they were not in the same house they would be friends and hang out. However they both knew that it would be harder if they weren't in the same house.

"Spinnet, Alicia"

Finally the name she was waiting for. Alicia sat down and put the hat on. It only took a few seconds before the hat made its proclamation.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat called. Alicia skipped over and sat next to Abby. The two girls wore bright smiled at being placed together.

Finally they reached the last two students, the Weasley twins. Abby and Alicia were interested to see where they would go. They had become very fond of them. Fred was called first. He sat on the stool and placed the old hat on his head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Fred removed the hat from his head and gave a theatrical bow before heading to the table. He pushed his way into a spot across from Alicia and Abby. George was called and the hat barely touched his head before it declared he too was to go to Gryffindor. George also made a theatrical bow and found a seat next to his brother.

Once that was done, Professor Dumbledore said a few words and the food appeared in front of them. As everyone started to fill up their plates the twins turned to the two girls and gave them a mischievous smile.

"Well it looks like you're stuck with us." The twins said in unison. The girls giggled.


	4. 2 Years Later

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

 **2 Years Later**

"Are you sure you have everything?" Diana asked her daughter. Abby rolled her eyes. Her mother always asked her the same questions before she got on the train.

"Yes mother."

"Well you know that if you did forget something," Her mother started.

"You can sent it with Erebus. I know, I know." The thirteen year old smiled at her mother. Diana started to tear up. Even though this was not her first year it was still hard to let her daughter go. She grabbed her daughter and enveloped her in a huge hug. Abby hugged her back. She loved her mom even if she was super sentimental.

"Don't forget to write." Diana said as she let her daughter go.

"I won't mom. And I will be home for Christmas."

"Abby!" screeched Alicia as she ran up to her best friend. The two friends embraced. "I've missed you!"

"You two just saw each other last weekend." Diana laughed.

"I know, but it seemed so long ago. Anyways I have a compartment already. Are you ready?" Alicia said as she grabbed Abby's trunk. Abby gave her mom one more hug and grabbed the basket containing her beloved Asha.

"Bye mom! See you at Christmas!" Abby and Alicia hurried off to get on the train. Alicia led Abby to a compartment about half way down. Their friend Lee was sitting with a small box in his lap.

"It's about time you came back. Ok now that you two are here I am leaving. I will be back when the train starts to leave." With that he left the two girls. They stowed Abby's trunk and she opened the basket containing her cat. After stretching, the sleek Siamese jumped onto Abby's lap, who had just sat down, curled up and started to purr. Not long after Angelina came in.

"Hey Abby, Hey Alicia. Good summer?" She asked, as if she hadn't seen them at all this summer. She sat next to Abby and started to pet Asha, who was kind of like a mascot for their group of friend. They talked about what they had done over the summer, waiting for the train to leave. Soon the whistle blew to signal to the students that the train was leaving soon.

"Do you think the twins are going to make it?" Alicia asked.

"They always do. Their family is always late you know." Angelina commented.

"I think their younger brother is starting this year." Abby said as Lee walked in the door.

"Yeah I saw the whole gaggle of red heads towards the end of the train. Do you girls want to see my tarantula?" Lee started to open the box he was holding.

"I would keep it away from Asha. She loves to chase and eat spiders." As Abby said this, her cat sat up and looked very interested in the box Lee was holding. He immediately closed the box.

"I thought you were only allowed toads, owls, or cats?" Alicia asked.

"Well those are the official ones they allow. However occasionally they allow you to keep others. I just won't tell any teacher that I have it." Lee smiled at the girls. The train started to move. They figured that the twins would find them eventually so they settled in for the long trip. It was not long before the red headed twins came bursting through the door.

"You will not believe who is on the train." Fred yelled out.

"Who?" They all asked.

"Harry Potter!" was the unison response. The other four stared at the twins for a bit, not quite believe what they were hearing. All of them had grown up hearing the story of the Boy-Who-Lived. Abby however was more interested in Harry Potter her half-brother, not the Boy-Who-Lived. She was curious about who he was, but knew she had no right to barge into his life.

"He was all by himself."

"Mom helped him get to the platform."

"We helped him get his trunk on the train."

"Then he wiped his hair out of his eyes."

"And there was his scar!" The two of them shouted this together. It was like a tennis match listening to them. You could get dizzy with these two sometimes.

"So we asked him and he told us he really was Harry Potter."

"After we said goodbye to mom we went to check on Ron"

"and guess who he was sitting with?"

"Harry Potter!" The answer came from them before anyone could guess.

"I can't believe that Harry Potter is attending Hogwarts." Alicia commented.

"I know. I wonder what House he will be sorted into." Angelina joined the conversation.

"I bet it will be Gryffindor. I mean you have to be brave to go up against You-Know-Who." Lee said.

"Really Lee. The boy was only a year old when You-Know-Who came after him. Do you really think he knew what he was doing? I bet he doesn't even remember what happened." Abby said. The stories that were told about Harry sometimes were ridicules.

"Well He definably will not be in Slytherin. Most of You-Know-Who's followers were from Slytherin, so I doubt he would go there." Fred said. Abby just rolled her eyes. She decided to try and change the subject, and she knew just how to do that.

"Do you think you guys will be able to beat the Slytherin team this year?" She asked.

"Of course. We have a solid team." George replied, taking the bait. Abby knew that brining up Quidditch would distract them.

"We need to find a good chaser." Angelina pointed out.

"Chasers are easy to find, what will be tricky will be finding a good seeker." Fred brought up.

"You can find good chasers, but we need to find one that works well with the two of us." Alicia said.

"I think Wood said he had some ideas. We will see who signs up." George said.

"You wouldn't want to try out would you Abby?" Angelina asked. This was not the first time they had asked her.

"You know my answer. I enjoy flying and playing an occasional pick up game, but I am not interested in competing. I also want to focus on my school work." Her friend nodded, not completely understanding her reasoning. But thankfully they accepted her decision.

The friend continued to talk about Quidditch as the train sped across the countryside. When the trolley came by they got some treats to share. The boys left for a bit to catch up with some other friends, and several people stopped by their compartment to say hi. Too soon they arrived and were told to leave their baggage on the train.

As usual it was chaos outside the train. Hagrid was yelling for first years, and they were weaving their way between older students to get to him. Older students were pushing their way to the horseless carriages, wanting to sit with their friends.

Finally Abby found herself in the Great Hall, sitting at the familiar table. Her friends all took their usual places around her. All the students in the hall were happily talking with each other. Everyone quieted down when the first years were filed in and lined up in front.

"Which one is Harry Potter?" Lee asked the twins.

"The black haired boy next to our brother." Fred answered. There was no need to ask who their brother was. The red locks were hard to miss. And standing next to him was a small black haired boy. Abby did not know what she had expected, but this was certainly not it. Her mother had given her a picture of her father, and standing in front of them was an almost carbon copy of him. The only difference seemed to be his eyes. Even from her seat she could see they were a vibrant green.

"You know, he kind of looks like you Abby." Alicia teased Abby.

"Why, because we both have black hair? I see lots of other kids here that have black hair." Abby tried to act nonchalant. Part of her wondered if they truly did resemble each other, despite the fact that they had different mothers.

"He's small for a first year too," Angelina put in.

"They look really nervous. Were we that nervous?" Lee asked.

"I think our dear brother actually believed us about the troll." George said quietly to his brother. They both laughed.

Then McGonagall placed the hat on its stool and the hat started to sing. They applauded when it finished and the sorting began. Abby really did not pay attention to all the names. She applauded for those sorted into Gryffindor, but didn't pay to close attention. She was thinking about the boy who looked so much like her father. Finally the name everyone was waiting for was called.

"Potter, Harry"

Every single eye was locked on the small black haired boy. He nervously walked to the stool and placed the hat on his head. In reality it took only about a minute, but it seemed like an eternity as the whole hall held their breath to find out.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat finally yelled. The Great Hall seemed to explode. Of course the Gryffindor table was the loudest one of all.

"We've got Potter! We've Got Potter!" The twins started to sing.

"Sit down you two, you're making a scene!" Angelina scolded the twins. They both stuck their tongues out at her, but they complied and sat down.

"Now that is done, let's hurry though the last few so we can eat." Fred commented.

"Aren't you curious to see where your brother will be placed?" Abby asked.

"No," the twins chorused together. They put on a good show of not caring, but Abby knew it was just that, a show. They really did care about their brother they just showed it in a different way. They had after all gone and checked up on Ron on the train.

"Weasley, Ronald"

Abby watched the nervous boy sit on the stool. She also watched the twins from the corner of the eye. They pretended as if they did not care, however they both were watching.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The table once again shouted and clapped as they welcomed in another lion. Abby noticed that George let out a sigh of relief and both twin wore proud smiled on their faces. Finally the last student was placed in Slytherin.

"Good now we can eat!" Lee said as Dumbldore said his welcoming words and the food appeared on the table. The feast, as always was wonderful and when Abby climbed into her bed that night, she slept wonderfully.

Abby woke up early the next morning. She always was an early bird. Abby carefully got out of bed so she wouldn't disturb her sleeping cat, and went into the bathroom to get ready. When she finished in the bathroom the other three girls were starting to wake up.

"I'll meet you downstairs," Abby told her friends. They sleepily let her know that they had heard her. She smiled, grabbed one of her books and went downstairs, Asha close behind her.

Abby found a comfy chair to sit on and waited for her friends to come down.

She read her book while stoking her cat that of course jumped onto her lap as soon as she sat down. Finally Alicia and Angelina both came down the stairs and sat on the arms of her chair.

"Ready for breakfast?" Alicia asked as she scratched Asha's head.

"I've been ready for twenty minutes." Abby said as she closed her book and moved her cat so she could get up.

"Should we wait for the boys?" Angelina said as she looked towards the boy's stairway.

"They will know where to find us." Alicia said as she dragged her friends through the portrait hole.

In the Great Hall, students were excitedly chatting. Although they were not necessarily look forward to the assignments, it was still exciting to see your old friends and to be able to use magic again. Abby, Alicia, and Angelina found a spot at the Gryffindor table and started to eat. About ten minutes later Fred, George, and Lee came in and joined them. They talked and laughed until Professor McGonagall came around and passed out their schedules.

"What's first?" Fred asked, not bothering to look at his own schedule.

"Care of Magical Creatures," Angelina responded.

"Great, start off with one of our new courses right off the bat." Lee commented. The six of them got up and started to head outside.

Care of Magical Creatures was a common elective chosen by third years. Many students from all houses chose this class. Because of that it was still split up into two classes. The Gryffindors and Slytherins walked down to where Professor Kettleburn waited. The pegged-legged professor smiled brightly at his students.

The class was very interesting, and Abby enjoyed learning about crups. Professor Kettleburn informed the class that they would spend a few weeks learning about the canines. Although their professor was eccentric, Abby knew she would enjoy the class.

After class, the group of six broke apart. Alicia was going to head up to Divination, while most of the others had a free period. Abby though was on her way to her other new course, Ancient Runes.

"Abby, wait up!" one of the twins said as he followed her. She thought it was George, but she still got the mixed up sometimes.

"Where are you going?" Abby asked her red headed friend when he caught up with her.

"I am going to class. I have Ancient Runes next." He said.

"Really? Just you?" Abby asked, a bit surprised.

"Well Fred and I decided to divide and conquer." Well now she definably knew whom she was talking to. "We have great plans for our future, but since there are two of us, we thought we could get more done if we divided up the work. We knew Muggle Studies and Divination would not be useful to our future plans. So we both are taking Care of Magical Creatures and we divided up the other two class."

"And how did you decide who would take which class?" Abby asked George.

"We left it up to fate. I drew Ancient Runes. I think I won, seeing as I am in the same class as you." He gave her a cheeky grin.

"Well I know I won't have trouble figuring out who I am talking to in this class." She replied with a similar grin.

"Unless we decide to switch someday, you never know. We like to keep people on their toes." George teased. Abby gave him a little shove.

They reached the class and found a spot together. As the class filled up, she noticed they were the only Gryffindors. Most of the class comprised of Ravenclaws and Slytherins. There were a few Hufflepuffs as well. Abby was bit surprised at how unpopular this class was. It seemed like a useful class.

"So it looks like you and I are outnumbered. But I think we could take them if we had to." George laughed.

"They are not enemies. It might be good for us to get to know some of out other year mates." Abby said.

Abby really enjoyed Ancient Runes, and not just because George was entertaining. She enjoyed the subject and was looking forward to learning more. She also really liked being with George. It was a rarity to spend time with just one of the twins, and she rather enjoyed it.

After Ancient Runes, the group met up for lunch and prepared for their afternoon classes. The Gryffindor third years had Transfiguration, Potions, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everyone was anxious to see what Professor Quirrell was like, but were severely disappointed by the stuttering man.

"I don't know how we will be able to survive that class all year. I could barely manage the smell." Angelina said as they went up to the tower to drop off their things before dinner.

"Not to mention I could barely understand what he was saying." Lee commented. The friends laughed and joked together, enjoying the fact that they were back at Hogwarts.

The students quickly acclimated to the routine of things. The first years obviously took longer then everyone else. It was always a challenge for the new students to find their way around the ever-changing castle and get used to the magical classes. But after a few weeks they got accustomed to everything. Everyone was falling back into the routine of school. The fifth years were preparing for their OWLs, while the seventh years were preparing for their NEWTs. The sixth years were getting used to the higher expectations of NEWT level courses. And the third years were adjusting to their new electives.

Abby of course had it easier then her friends who also had Quidditch practice. She often would complete her assignment while they were practicing, and then help them do their assignment when they returned. She enjoyed her routine, and liked to help her friends out.

One day after practice her friends returned with great big smiles on their faces. Lee soon joined them. Lee hardly ever hung out with just Abby, opting to find other people to hang out with.

"We are going to cream the other teams this year, no doubt." Fred said as he flopped onto the couch.

"So your new Chaser and Seeker are fitting in well?" Abby asked.

"Katie is a great find, and works so well with us. I mean it's as if the three of us have been playing together forever." Alicia excitedly proclaimed.

"That's good to hear." Abby smiled.

"How about the new Seeker?" Still not going to tell us who it is?" Lee asked. He had been trying to get the info from the twins but they had been very hard to crack. Wood wanted to keep it a secret, although Abby doubted it would last very long.

"He is AMAZING!" the twins exclaimed.

"Who knew that a first year would have such talent" George started to say.

"Shush, or you will give it away." Angelina said, smacking George in the arm.

"So, he's a first year. That narrows it down." Lee said as he scanned the common room to try and figure out who it could be. Just then Harry Potter walked through the portrait hole looking tired. Lee's eyes widened. "No. It couldn't be. Is it Harry Potter?" Lee looked at the others' faces. They could not keep the smiled off their faces.

"The kid's a natural on a broom, and has wonderful instinct when it comes to finding the Snitch." Fred said. It was obviously to late to deny it.

"I thought first years were not allowed to have brooms or be on the House team." Abby looked to her friends for an answer.

"Well apparently McGonagall and Dumbledore made and exception." Angelina said.

They talked a bit more about the team, before they got started on their homework. Abby knew that now that Lee knew who the mystery Seeker was, the whole tower would know, and eventually the whole school would know.


	5. Strange Happenings

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

There will not be a lot of changes during Harry's first two years at Hogwarts, although there will be a few small things. Please enjoy!

* * *

 **Strange Happenings**

Abby woke up on Halloween to the smell of pumpkin. She knew from past years that the whole castle would smell like this all day and she looked forward to that. She was the first one up, so she took advantage of the empty bathroom. That was one good thing about being an early riser. After that she went into the common room followed by her cat and pulled out her Ancient Runes book. She knew that her friends would take at least another twenty minutes to get ready for breakfast.

"What are you reading?" A voice asked. Abby looked up and found the frizzy haired first year. She could not remember her name but Abby did know that this girl was having a hard time relating to her peers. She was trying too hard to impress everyone, and rubbing them the wrong way.

"It's my textbook for Ancient Runes" Abby showed her the cover.

"Is it an interesting class? I have heard about it. You can't take it until third year right? It is one of the elective you get to choose from. There are several interesting electives to choose from. I know I have two years before I will be taking any of them, but I figured it does not hurt to start thinking about it. What do you learn about? What other elective are you taking?" The girl babbled on.

"Take a breath. Most people don't like to be bombarded with questions like that." The girl blushed a bit. "What's your name again?"

"Hermione Granger." She responded

"Can I call you Hermione?" Abby asked. Hermione nodded. "Alright, Hermione, I see you are very enthusiastic about school. I have seen you in here with your piles of books and I hear you spewing out facts you have read. I am going to give you some advice. There are other things to life then books and learning. I know it can be intimidating to come to Hogwarts, especially if you grew up in the muggle world."

"Did you grow up in the muggle world?" Hermione interrupted.

"I did. And I did not fit in at my old school. I know that books can be a comfort and an escape. But you have to know when to put books aside and make real connections with people." Abby tried to help the girl.

"I try and talk with people. I am trying to be helpful," Hermione put in.

"I think though people see it as you being pushy. I am not saying to forget about books and try to be someone else, but you don't have to be so intense." Hermione sat there thinking a bit. Alicia and Angelina came down the staircase.

"Thank you for talking with me," Hermione said when she saw that Abby's friends were there. "I don't even know your name."

"Just call me Abby." She smiled at the girl. She hoped that Hermione would take it to heart and mellow out. Hermione stood up and went back to her corner where her books were laid out.

"What was that about?" Alicia asked.

"I was just trying to help Hermione realized there is more to school then learning things from a book. I noticed she was having a hard time making friends." Abby responded putting her book in her bag.

"Oh Abby, you can't resist the temptation to help a person in need." Angelina laughed. Abby did have a habit of trying to help others.

The three friends went down to breakfast. They laughed and talked and eventually the boys joined them. They went through the day anticipating the wonderful Halloween feast. Finally they were leaving their last class.

"Ugh, you would think the pumpkin smell would cover up the garlic smell in there but instead it seemed to make thing worse." Lee commented after leaving the DADA class.

"I know. It was unbearable. I am so thankful to be out of there and breathe fresh air." Angelina said.

"I don't know what's worse, enduring the smell or enduring the stuttering." Fred said. It was a common complaint that the students made.

"Well both make it hard to learn, not that Professor Quirrell is really teaching us much." Alicia replied.

The six friends went up to the tower to drop off their school bags before heading down to the Great Hall. Everyone around them was excited for the feast. As they found their place at the table, Abby overheard a couple of first year girls talking about Hermione. She was not completely sure what they were saying, but she thought she heard them say that Hermione was crying in the bathroom. Of course she also knew that those two girls loved to gossip, so she did not think too much about it.

The Great Hall, as usual, looked amazing. Every year so far for Halloween the Great Hall was decorated spectacularly. This year there were live bats fluttering about everywhere and wonderfully carved pumpkins. The six friends sat down, waiting for everyone to arrive. As usual the girls sat on one side while the boys sat across from them. Finally the marvelous feast appeared before them.

But before they really could start eating the feast, Professor Quirrell came running into the hall yelling about a troll in the castle. It took a couple of seconds for the students to realize what he was yelling about, and then pandemonium broke out. Students were yelling and trying to figure out what to do. Finally Professor Dumbledore shot off some purple firecrackers causing the hall to fall into silence.

 _"_ _Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"_

All the prefects started to round up the students in their Houses and lead them to their dormitories. It was a nerve wrecking journey, since no one really knew where the troll was. At every corner they stopped and looked around to make sure the troll was not in their way. Older students had their wands out, ready to defend if they needed to.

Finally Gryffindor made it safely to their tower. It was a great relief to see the portrait of the Fat Lady. As they entered they found a couple of tables piled up with food for the students. Since no one really got to eat anything at the feast, they happily grabbed plates of food and sat around the common room.

Abby and her friends found a corner to sit, and started to talk. She half listened to the twins telling a joke as she scanned the common room. She realized she did not see Hermione. Maybe she was upstairs in her room. Then she noticed there was one red head missing from the common room as well.

"Fred and George, do you guys know where your little brother is? I don't see him." Abby asked.

"He's probably near the food."

"That's his favorite place."

But after they too scanned the crowd and were unable to find him they went over to Percy and see if he knew where Ron was. Abby also noticed another person was missing, Harry Potter. She was surprised that no one noticed that three first years were missing.

"Well, Percy said he saw him in the Great Hall when we left." George said as they sat back down with their friends.

"He must be up in his room or in the bathroom." Fred added.

Abby did not bring up the fact that two other first years also appeared to be missing, she just kept looking around hoping she missed them somehow. She also noticed that although George was talking and making jokes like his brother, he was also scanning the room periodically.

Finally she saw Hermione standing by the door. She looked a little disheveled and appeared to be waiting for something. Abby let out a sigh of relief. Then Ron and Harry stepped through the portrait hole. She did not want to think about where they had been.

The three first years seemed to have a short exchange before they went to the table and grabbed some food. Whatever had happened, at least they were safe in the tower now. Abby relaxed and finally was able to enjoy her dinner. George also relaxed more when he caught sight of his brother at the food table.

After enjoying the meal and some pleasant company, the students slowly made their way up to their beds. Abby followed Alicia and Angelina up to their room, and curled up with her cherished cat. It had been an interesting end to the day, and she was ready for it to be over. She fell asleep to the soothing sounds her Asha purring.

With Halloween behind them, the school was now anxiously awaiting the first Quidditch game of the season. The Gryffindor vs. Slytherin game was always highly anticipated, partly because of the animosity between the two Houses. Of course everyone was also anticipating the debut of Harry Potter. Although Wood had tried to keep it a secret, nothing really was ever kept quiet at Hogwarts. Once Lee had found out, it did not take long for all of Gryffindor to find out, and then it only took a couple of days until the rest of the school found out. It happened just as Abby had predicted.

The night before the big game Abby and her friends were lounging in their usual corner. Fred and George were periodically setting off small fireworks, which was annoying Percy. Angelina and Alicia were playing a game of Exploding Snap, which was also annoying Percy since he could not tell which explosions were coming from the game and which were coming from his brothers. Abby watched the whole thing happen, giggling at the twin's antics. She knew this was their way of relaxing before their big game tomorrow.

Abby looked over to where Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting. She was happy to see Hermione hanging out with the boys instead of isolating herself with a book. Harry looked very nervous. Of course he was nervous, it was his first Quidditch game. She wished she could do something for him. Just then Fred let off a firework that landed on her robe.

"Hey Fred, watch it!" She said as she put the small fire out. Fred was laughing hysterically.

"Sorry Abby, I miss judged where it was going," He said while still laughing. George was laughing a bit, but not as hard as his brother.

"Alright you two, that is enough of that!" Percy sternly said as he approached his brothers. He grabbed the remaining fireworks and stormed away.

"Fortunately for us, we never keep all of our fireworks in just one bag," George snickered as he pulled out another small bag of fireworks. Abby just shook her head.

The next morning was beautiful, however a little cold. Abby and her friends went down to breakfast. Although she could tell they were nervous, they were nothing compared to how nervous Harry was. His friends were trying to get him to eat something, but he just sat there looking as if he was about to walk to his death.

"We have to get going." Angelina said as she stood up. Alicia and the twins followed suit.

"We should probably go get Potter too." George said looking over to where the first year sat.

"Yeah, he might need our help walking down to the pitch." Fred joked.

"I have to head down as well and prepare to comment on the historic game that is about to happen." Lee theatrically announced, leaving Abby alone. She gave a sigh and waited for the rest of the school to start heading down to the pitch. When she got down to the pitch she found a spot in the Gryffindor section.

"Hey Abby!" Hermione happily greeted the older girl.

"Hey Hermione. Are you looking forward to watching your first Quidditch game?" She asked as the first years sat down behind her.

"I am interested to see what the game is like. I have a read a bit about it and want to see how it compares to some of the muggle sports." The girl replied. Abby laughed at the Hermione's response. She then saw the banner they had made for Harry. She smiled.

Before she knew it the two teams were marching onto the field. Harry was so small compared to the other players. He was small for a first year as it was, and many of the other players had several years on him. It frightened her a bit, knowing how rough some of the games could get.

The crowed cheered as the players mounted their broom and flew into the air. She then heard the familiar sound of Lee's voice. She laughed as he did his entertaining commentary while Professor McGonagall would yell at him periodically. She wondered why Professor McGonagall continued to allow him to be the commentator.

Watching the game was nerve wrenching. Abby watched as her friends played against the rough Slytherins, and as Harry circled high above. She chuckled when Harry did a couple of loop-the-loops after Angelina had scored. She enjoyed watching her friends play and listening to Lee's amusing commentary. Although her friends did not quite understand it, she enjoyed watching Quidditch more then she liked playing it.

At one point Hagrid came up and sat next to Hermione. Abby didn't know the gentle giant very well, but it seemed as if Hermione and Ron did. He also seemed to know Harry pretty well. The three talked behind Abby quietly as the game went on.

Suddenly Harry and the Slytherin Seeker dove after the Snitch. Every other player on the team seemed to be frozen as they watched the chase. Harry was faster, and was getting closer to the Snitch. Then he was violently blocked by Marcus Flint. There was a roar of outrage at the obvious foul. One of the boys behind Abby yelled about red card. She chuckled. Most of the people here would have no idea what he was talking about. Only the muggleborns or student who had lived in the muggle world would understand the soccer reference. Abby was also chuckling at Lee's comments about the foul and McGonagall's threats to remove him.

Not long after that happen, Abby noticed something funny going on with Harry. It seemed as if his broom was trying to buck him off. It was curious, especially since he had a brand new Nimbus Two Thousand. It happened again, and Abby felt like there was something wrong.

 _"_ _Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled._

People were starting to notice something wasn't right. Harry's broom kept jerking and rolling. Abby was holding her breath, hoping that Harry could hold on. She did not notice anything else around her. She did not notice Hermione and Ron having a conversation behind her. She did not notice Hermione running off. She was focused on the small boy trying to hold on to his broom.

The twins were tried to help Harry onto one of their broom, but his broom kept going higher. The whole crowed was staring at the out of control broom and the young Seeker's struggle. Abby knew that if Harry dropped from the height he was at, he would suffer from severe injuries or even worse, die.

Suddenly the broom mysteriously stopped and Harry was able to climb back on his broom. Abby let out the breath she had been holding in. the next minute it seemed as if something was wrong with his broom again. Harry was speeding toward the ground. He clapped his hands over his mouth. There was complete and utter confusion when Harry held up the Snitch. The game was over and no one really knew what had happened.

Once everyone realized that the game was over and the Gryffindor won there was celebrating all over. Lee kept shouting the results, as the Gryffindors flooded the field.

As was the tradition when Gryffindor won, there was a party in the common room. The loud celebration went all afternoon and into the night. Professor McGonagal had to come in and tell everyone to go to bed.


	6. Winter Fun

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

This is a shorter chapter however the next chapter is almost ready to go. Hopefully I will have it up in the next couple of days.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Winter Fun**

November went by quickly and before anyone knew it, December was upon them. The caste was really cold. Students huddled together to keep warm in the drafty hallways. The classes were a challenge, especially Potions down in the dungeons.

In the middle of December the students woke up to find the castle and it's grounds covered in several feet of snow. It was a beautiful sight, and it made the cold almost bearable. Many of the students could be found outside burning off some of their pent up energy.

Abby and her friends were amongst those outside. The six of them were throwing snowballs at each other. It had started out as boys against girls but then the twins turned on Lee, and Alicia accidentally hit Angelina. Once that happened it was a free for all. The twins as usual, were a force to be reckoned with and everyone ended up being covered in snow. Finally they decided to take a break.

"I wonder if we could charm snowballs to chase after specific people?" Fred pondered out loud as he rolled a snowball and lightly tossed it from one hand to the other. He looked over at his brother to see what he thought.

"It shouldn't be that hard." George responded thinking about it for a bit.

"Leave us out of that please." Alicia stated. The twins put their head close together and started to whisper to each other. The girls were used to it, since they did this quite often.

"Anyways, what are you holiday plans?" Angelina asked the other two girls turning away from the mischievous duo.

"Mom wants to travel somewhere, but dad says it cost to much. We probably will just end up visiting my grandparents like normal." Alicia responded.

"My mom said we will take a trip to muggle London. We might go shopping and see some of the sights." Abby said "What about you?"

"Some of our relatives are visiting us this year. It should be fun meeting some of my cousins." The girls kept talking while the boys started to make snowballs. Lee had joined the twins and it seemed as if they had come up with something.

"Let's go in and warm up." Abby suggested as it started to get colder.

The three girls got up, leaving the boys behind to keep plotting. The three of them went up to the tower to change into dry clothes. When they returned to the common room the snow covered boys came in laughing.

"You girls should have seen it." Lee exclaimed when he saw the girls. "Fred and George figured out how to make snowballs chase one particular person." With that the three boys started to laugh hysterically.

"Who did you target?" Alicia asked.

"Professor Quirrell!" The twins said together.

"We saw him walking around outside" George started.

"And thought it would be funny to have snowballs attack his purple turban." finished Fred

"It was hilarious!" They concluded together. The girls had to admit it would have been funny to see.

"The detention is so worth it." Fred said. They all started to laugh some more. There was never a dull moment.

The rest of the term went by in a cold blur. And before they knew it the break was almost there. The students throughout the castle were anticipating the break from their classes and most of them were looking forward to some time at home with their family.

The day before their break was to begin, Abby went to the library to return a book she no longer needed. She was also going to see if she could find a book to read while her mom worked when she was home. She went during the morning break and found Hermione sitting at a table with several books in front of her.

"That's a lot of books for right before the Holidays." Abby commented as she walked up to Hermione's table.

"I am doing a little… side research project." Hermione said as she glanced up. She gave Abby a small smile as Ron and Harry both came up to the table with a book in their hands.

"What are you researching?" Abby asked.

"Well… We…. Um…." Hermione hesitated. She looked over at Harry who shrugged his shoulders. It seemed as if he was the leader of their little group. "We heard about this guy named Nicolas Flamel and the three of wanted to learn more about him."

"Nicolas Flamel? The alchemist?" Abby asked. She then looked at the books they had grabbed and wondered how much they actually knew about him.

"Alchemist?" Ron asked confused. Hermione's eyes widened at bit at this piece of information.

"Yeah, Nicolas Flamel is probably the most known alchemist in the world." Abby said. She found it a bit suspicious that they were interested in Nicolas Flamel but did not even know that he was an alchemist.

"What is an alchemist?" Harry asked.

"Alchemy is a branch of magic that focuses on the four elements and the transmutation of substances." Hermione stated before Abby could answer.

"The goal of most alchemist is to turn ordinary metals into gold or silver. Nicolas Flamel is the creator of the philosopher's stone." Abby put in.

"No wonder we couldn't find him. We were looking in the wrong books." Hermione exclaimed "I think I have a book back in my dorm that will give us more information. We can look at it tonight." With that the three first years started to pick up the books so they could put them away.

"Well I am glad I was able to help." Abby said as she started to walk away. But before she got very far, Hermione came over and gave her a hug.

"Thank you Abby. I have a feeling we would be searching for a while if you hadn't helped us." Hermione smiled at the older girl.

"Any time. If you ever need any help with things, let me know. If I can't help you, I can at least point you in the right direction." Abby honestly said. She was growing fond of the frizzy brunette smiling at her. Abby left them to clean up their books and went in search for a book of her own.

The next day Abby and her friends boarded the Hogwarts Express with the other students who were returning home for the holidays. The three of them found a compartment to share. The Weasleys were all staying at Hogwarts over Christmas, and because the twins weren't there Lee refused to hang out with three girls. Soon after they sat down and let Asha out of her basket there was a knock on the door.

"Can I sit with you guys?" Hermione asked shyly. While she knew Abby very well, she really did not know the other two girls.

Abby glanced at her two friends to make sure it was all right with them before she beckoned the younger girl into the compartment. Hermione quietly sat down next to Abby. Asha surprisingly left Abby's lap and sat down on Hermione's lap.

"Asha really likes you." Abby said a bit surprised. "She likes most people but she rarely sits on other people's laps."

"Yeah, usually she is glues to Abby unless she is not there, then she will sit next to one of us, but never on our laps." Alicia commented.

"She is so pretty." Hermione admired as she pet the cat. "I want a pet, but my parents aren't sure if I am ready for one yet."

"Yeah, my parents wont let me have one either," Angelina complained.

"How did you come up with the name Asha?" Hermione asked as she watched the cat fall asleep on her lap.

"It's a name from a story my mom told me when I was younger." Abby responded.

"The Fountain of Fair Fortune. I love that story." Alicia stated.

"I have never heard of that story?" Hermione was intrigued.

"It's one of the tales of Beedle the Bard. Every child from a wizarding home knows those stories." Abby explained. "They are like the fairy tales you would have hard growing up."

"You mean you have never heard of Beedle the Bard?" Angelina asked looking at Hermione curiously. Hermione shook her head. With that the three girls took turns telling her the stories that every wizarding child grew up listening to.

When the train reached Kings Cross Station, the four girls said goodbye to each other and parted ways. Abby quickly found her mom waiting for her amongst the other parents. She smiled, grabbed her trunk and basket, and walked over to her.

"Hey Abby girl. How was your term?" Her mom asked as she grabbed her daughter and gave her a tight hug.

"I told you about most of it in my letters." Abby said as she rolled her eyes.

"I know, but I enjoy hearing about everything." Diana grabbed Abby's trunk and walked her daughter to the car. "Alright, well it has been a week since your last letter, so what has happened in that week."

"We were busy finishing up our assignments for the term. The twins managed to get a detention two days before break by making it snow in the charm's corridor. I helped some first years with a little research project." Abby told her mother.

"Those twins are always getting into trouble. Thankfully it's nothing really serious. If I thought they were being a bad influence on you I would tell you not to hang out with them. I knew a few pranksters in my day." Diana smiled at the memory.

"Really? Who were the pranksters when you were in school?" Abby was curious.

"Well, it was actually your dad and his friends. They were always getting into trouble, and causing mayhem." She laughed. "Your dad and his best friend caused most of the raucous. One of his friends just followed along with everything they did, and the other tried to keep them under control. But when the four of them put their mind on something it could be catastrophic."

On the ride home Diana told Abby some of the stories of her school days and the crazy pranks that her dad played. Diana little by little told her about her father, and Abby soaked all the information in.

Overall Abby enjoyed her Christmas break at home. Her mom took her to London and they spent the afternoon shopping and having fun. They even went out to eat at a fancy restaurant. Unfortunately her mom did have to work a bit while she was home, but that gave her time to do her homework and read a bit. Her break, as always, came to an end too soon and she found herself back at Hogwarts.


	7. A Surprise Quidditch Match

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

 **A Surprise Quidditch Match**

Life returned back to normal at the castle. Abby went to classes, did her homework and hung out with her friends. As rain replaced the snow, Quidditch practice started back up, and Abby found herself sitting alone many evenings.

One such evening Abby returned to the common room after dinner and found a spot where she could spread out. She pulled out her potions textbook. She didn't really like potions class, but it was a necessary part of her future plan. Honestly she had a feeling that if she had a different potion teacher she might enjoy the subject more. Thankfully her mom had taught her a lot about potions so she was pretty good at it.

"Hi Abby. How are things?" Abby looked up and saw Hermione coming up to her. She smiled at the younger girl.

"Pretty good. Keeping busy with my schoolwork. How are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm good. Are you alone again tonight?"

"Yeah. That happens when all your friends are on the Quidditch team." She smiled. Hermione nodded in understanding, after all one of her friends was also on the team.

"What are you working on?" Hermione sat down next to Abby.

"Potions. We are working on the Confusion Draught. I have to write about the effects of the potion and how one might use the potion." Abby told Hermione. Hermione loved hearing about what the older girl was learning about. Abby was more than happy to talk with her friend. The two of them often would get into conversations about their schoolwork.

"Hey, Hermione. Are we going to play chess or not?" Ron yelled from where he had set up the chessboard.

"I did promise him I would play tonight. I'll see you around." Hermione said as she went off to play with Ron.

Abby smiled. She returned back to her assignment and got a good amount of it done when Harry came into the common room. Abby knew that the rest of the team would be coming in soon. Harry went straight to his two friends playing chess, and they had an intense whispered conversation.

Then Neville stumbled through the portrait hole. The whole common room started to laugh, but Abby and Hermione ran over to the boy and helped him up. Abby hated to see others suffer, and really disliked when people made fun of others. Abby quickly did the counter-curse and helped the boy stand up.

"Are you alright?" Abby asked him.

"I'm fine," He mumbles.

"What happened Neville?" Hermione asked as she led the boy over to Ron and Harry.

Abby would have followed but she really did not know the first year very well. Also at that moment Alicia, Angelina, and the twins came back to the common room. She returned to her books as her friends found their spots around her.

"How was practice?" She asked.

"Horrible!" Fred exclaimed.

"We found out Snape is going to be the referee for the next match." Alicia filled in.

"What! But he has never done that before, has he?" Abby asked surprised at what she had just heard.

"No, and who knows why he decided to do it now." Angelina put in.

"I bet he just wants to make sure that Slytherin still has a shot at the cup." George said.

Her friends slowly got their work out and started on it. They were not in a good mood, but not completing their potion's essay would just make Snape even more vindictive. Abby wanted to help cheer her friends up, but she really did not know how to do that.

The whole Gryffindor team seemed to be in a funk the following couple of weeks leading up to the match. Alicia and Angelina were distracted in class and barely took notes. The twins stopped pranking, which was very unusual. Katie Bell was very jumpy and got startled if there was any loud noise. Oliver Wood could be found in a corner muttering to himself trying to make sure they had solid plays. The youngest player of the team though was probably the worst off. He could not sit still, and barely ate anything. Overall the team was a mess.

Finally the dreaded match arrived. Normally the Quidditch team would excitedly anticipate the coming match, but with the fact that Snape was refereeing made them want to skip the whole thing. The team drudged down to the pitch together after having some breakfast.

Abby, who once again was left alone, climbed her way to the stands to find a good spot. Then some Ravenclaw students came and sat next to her.

"Hey Abby!" One of the girls said. She was in Ancient Runes with Abby, and the two of them would occasionally work together, and got along fairly well.

"What are you guys doing here so close to the Gryffindors?" Abby asked jokingly.

"We would rather see you guys win then Slytherin." One of the other boys commented.

"Since Slytherin smashed us, Gryffindor is the only possible team to beat Slytherin." Roger Davies said. He was a chaser on the Ravenclaw team, but Abby knew him better from Ancient Runes.

Just then the teams came out of the locker rooms and met in the middle. As was customary, the captains shook hands and then the teams were up in the air. The chaser started to pass the ball and play.

"There was no need to award Hufflepuff that penalty shot!" Roger yelled. Abby chuckled a bit. Usually Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs cheered for each other, Roger must really want Slytherin to be beaten this year.

"Look at Potter. Has his broom gone crazy again?" one of the other boys said.

Abby looked around and saw Harry nose-diving to the ground. Was he losing control? They watched as Harry shot past Professor Snape and pull out of the dive clasping the Snitch in his hands.

"I cannot believe it. I have never heard of anyone getting the Snitch so quickly." Roger loudly said. The crowed around them was going crazy.

"That was insane!" Abby remarked, not believing what happened.

"He is a talented Seeker. I wish our team had a Seeker like him. And to think he is only a first year." Roger stated.

The crowed started to walk back to the castle. Many of them were wondering what they would do for the rest of the day. As Abby walked back Roger walked up beside her.

"Have you finished your assignment for Ancient Runes yet?" He asked.

"I actually haven't started it yet. Last night I was helping Alicia with Charms."

"I was going to work on it tonight. If you would like you could join me in the library and we can work on it together." Roger offered. Abby stopped in her tracks. Did he just ask her to study in the library together? She wasn't sure if this was just an offer to work together or something more. "I mean, I know there will probably be a party in Gryffindor, so I understand if you would rather not." He said when he noticed that she had stopped walking. He started to walk away, looking disappointed. Abby quickly caught back up with him.

"Knowing my House mates, they will start the party as soon as we get back to the tower. It will be a long night, so it might be nice to escape it for a bit." Abby said. She watched as Roger broke out into a smile.

"We could meet in the library around 3. Does that work for you?"

"Sounds good. It gives me a few hours to celebrate and then an excuse to leave." She gave him a smile. At that point they reached where they would break apart and head their own ways.

The party was pretty crazy and loud. The twins had snatched some food from the kitchen, which everyone greatly enjoyed. Abby had fun hanging out with her friends but she did get tired of it after a couple of hours. Finally 3 O'clock approached and Abby got up to grab her books.

"Where are you going?" Angelina asked.

"I…um… I'm going to… the library," Abby stuttered out.

"The library? Why?" Fred inquired.

"I am going to work on my Ancient Runes assignment." She said quickly.

"But why? I mean you can do it tomorrow." Lee said.

"I am meeting a classmate and we are working on it together." Abby turned, but before she got anywhere the question she hoped no one would ask was voiced.

"Who are you meeting?" Alicia asked eyeing her friend suspiciously.

"Roger Davies." Abby said quietly. She then quickly ran up the stairs to her room to grab her bag. When she returned to the common room, she walked as quickly as she could to the portrait hole to avoid any more conversation with her friends. She knew that when she returned they would bombard her with questions.

Abby reached the library a little bit before 3. She walked in and found that Roger was already there. He had a small table by himself and had his books all spread out. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt nervous, and hesitated a bit at the door. She took a deep breath and walked over to the table.

"Hey Roger. I thought we were meeting at 3." Abby stated.

"I came a little early to work on some of my other assignments." He looked up and gave her a smile. "I'm happy to see that you managed to escape the celebration."

"I had a little bit of trouble getting away, but nothing big." Abby sat down next to Roger and started to pull out her book.

"Your friends?" Roger asked.

"Yeah. They didn't understand that I wanted to do some work today. I have a feeling that they will grill me when I get back to as to why I was meeting you." She honestly said.

"What are you going to say to them, about meeting me?" He looked at her.

"It depends. Is this just two classmates working together, or is it something else?" She wanted to know the answer, but was also unsure as to which answer she wanted. She watched as Roger suddenly grew nervous. He was closing some of his books and rearranging things on the table.

"Honestly, I was hopping this could be more then just doing schoolwork together." He said quietly. "I mean… I… I think you're a great girl… and I would like…like to get to you know better."

Abby quietly thought for a bit. Roger was a good-looking guy. He also seemed really nice, and had always been friendly to her. He was obviously smart since he was in Ravenclaw, and he was also pretty good at Quidditch. But she did not know him very well.

She was also only fourteen, and this was all new to her. She had seen older students sitting together, holding hands, even snogging in corners. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that.

"I think I would like to get to know you too." She responded quietly. She could feel her cheeks warm up, and knew she was blushing. She opened her book and started to turn to the page they were going to work on. She missed the smile that formed on Rogers face.

The two of them started to look at their assignment. Abby was pleased to see that as they worked on their schoolwork, they were pretty comfortable with each other. It was nice to have someone help her, as appose to her always helping her friends. They worked for a couple of hours before they decided to stop.

"We probably should go down to the Great Hall and get some food." Roger said as he started to put his books into his bag.

"I guarantee that I will be the only Gryffindor there. Everyone else will still be up in the tower partying."

"Won't they get hungry?" He asked curiously.

"The Weasley twins know how to get food from the kitchen, so I assure you, there is plenty of food up there." Abby chuckled.

"Well, you could sit at our table for today. I mean there is no rule that says you can't sit with us." He offered.

"I guess I could," Abby hesitated. "Your right there is no rule, however it usually doesn't happen."

The two of them walked down to the Great Hall together. Some people stared as the Gryffindor sat down at the Ravenclaw table. The students sitting at the table gave her a questioning look, but didn't say anything. A few other third year Ravenclaw students joined Abby and Roger and soon Abby relaxed and actually enjoyed eating with them.

After Dinner they walked together. Since both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were in a tower, they were able to walk a bit together. Abby was very surprised at how easy it was to talk to Roger.

"I will be studying in the library again tomorrow, if you would like to join me. Although you will probably want to spend time with your friends" Roger said as they approach the place where they would part ways.

"I can split my time. What time will you be in the library?"

"Probably about the same time as today. I will go down around 2, and stay until dinner." Roger responded. Abby smiled at him. He was definably a Ravenclaw.

"I will meet you there. Will you be alone, or will some of your friends be joining you?" She asked. Knowing Alicia, she would want to tag along.

"On Sundays there is usually a group of us. Is that alright?" He asked.

"Of course. Is it ok if some of my friends come? I don't know if they will want to but I figure I would give them the option."

"That's fine. Well, I will see you tomorrow." Roger said as they both started to walk in the direction of their House.

Abby walked into the common room and was accosted by Alicia and Angelina. They dragged her over to the corner to start interrogating her. She could tell that they were not happy with her.

"Why were you meeting Roger Davies in the library?" Alicia inquired.

"Like I said, we worked on our Ancient Runes' assignment." Abby decided she would be evasive and have some fun with this.

"Why Roger?" Angelina asked. "I mean there are others in your class. George is in that class, and you could work with him."

"He said he was going to work on it today in the library, so I decided to join him." Abby responded.

"Did he ask you to join him, or did you offer to join him?" Alicia asked.

"Why does it matter?" Abby threw out.

"Just answer the questions!" Alicia frustratingly said.

"He asked me." She answered quietly. At this response, George who had only been half listening to the interrogation looked over at Abby. There was something in his eyes that Abby couldn't quite read.

"He asked you?" George repeated.

"Yes he did. After the match he asked if I would like to join him in the library to work on our assignment together." Abby replied.

"So are you two an item?" Angelina questioned.

"I don't know." Abby honestly said. She wasn't sure how to answer it. She was a bit confused herself about the situation.

"How do you not know!" Alicia said a bit louder then she intended. A few heads in the common room turned to look their way. Abby sighed.

"We both want to get to know each other a bit more." She finally answered.

"So, you're not dating?" George asked.

"Technically, no we are not." Abby responded.

Alicia and Angelina continued to ask Abby questions about Roger and what happened that evening. George would look up from what he was doing every once in a while and listen. He seemed upset by the fact that Abby had spent several hours with Roger. Finally Abby had enough.

"I'm going to bed." She said bluntly, and before any more discussion could erupt. She wasn't really tired, so she just grabbed one of her books and closed the drapes on her bed. Asha, who avoided the loud parties, greeted Abby with a happy yowl. Abby sat on the bed and happily read with her cat curled up next to her. Alicia was the first one to come up a couple of hours later.

"Are you still up?" She whispered, just in case Abby really was asleep.

"Yes I am up." Abby said as she opened her curtains.

"So, do you like Roger?" Alicia asked as she sat on the bed next to her best friend.

"I think I do. He's really nice, smart, decent Quidditch player. He's really polite to me and easy to talk with." Alicia smiled at her friend.

"Well I guess if you like him, I can over look the fact that he is in Ravenclaw." She giggled. She gave her friend a hug.


	8. The Substitute Seeker

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

 **The Substitute Seeker**

As the end of the year approached, the teachers started to assign more and more work. The fifth and seventh year students were trying to prepare for their big tests. The other students also had their end of the year exams that their professors were trying to make sure they were ready for.

Abby spent many evenings and weekends in the library with Roger. He was very helpful with her assignments, and she enjoyed the time with him. Occasionally Alicia would join them.

The Easter holidays were filled with homework. Abby felt like she spent more time doing work then anything else. It was not a relaxing break.

One Sunday morning Abby and her friends walked down to the Great Hall and had a huge shock. They absentmindedly glanced over to the giant hourglasses and stopped. The Gryffindor hourglass had a considerably smaller number of rubies then the night before.

"What happened to all of our points?" Angelina asked

"There must be a mistake. There is no way we lost that many in one night." Alicia said.

They walked into the Great Hall and found a seat at their table. They started to eat when the boys joined them. They sat down at their usual spot.

"Did you guys see the hourglass?" Lee asked them.

"Yeah, any ideas as to how we lost over a hundred points in one night?" Alicia asked.

"We heard a crazy story that Harry Potter and a couple of other first years lost us one hundred and fifty points." Fred said.

"What!" The three girls exclaimed together.

"That's what we heard. Not sure if it is true." George said.

"What could they have done to lose that many point?" Abby asked.

It did not take long for them to find out. All day long it seemed like the only thing people were talking about was how Harry Potter and two other Gryffindors snuck out the night before past curfew in an attempt to get another student in trouble.

That evening Abby came back from the library and saw Hermione sitting quietly alone in a corner. She was not her usual self. Abby realized she had not talked with the girl in a while and so decided to see what was up.

"Hey Hermione. How are things?" Abby asked as she sat down next to the younger girl. Hermione looked up and shrugged.

"It's been a rough day." She said quietly. Abby realized then that Hermione must have been one of the other students who lost the points.

"You were with Harry last night, weren't you?" Abby asked. She was not accusatory, just curious. Hermione picked this up and relaxed a bit.

"Harry and I were helping a friend out and things got out of hand." She said quietly.

"You were helping a friend? At midnight?"

"I can't tell you about it because he would get in trouble. He was doing something illegal and we were trying to help him get out of the situation. Unfortunately Draco Malfoy found out about it, and well, we got caught. And poor Neville got mixed up in it all unfortinatly."

Abby watched the girl tear up. She obviously was having a hard time with this and needed a friend to comfort her, not to lecture her. Abby engulfed the girl into a hug and let her cry a bit.

"Thank you Abby. I think Neville and I have it easy. Most people do not know who we are. The other first years are giving us a hard time, but most the other students aren't. Harry though is struggling. Everyone knows him. And I have a feeling it is just going to get worse for him." Hermione said.

"Just be a good friend for him, and he will be able to get through it." Just then Harry came through the portrait hole after practice. His shoulders were slumped and he definably was having a bad day. He came over to Hermione and sat down.

"How was practice?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Horrible. Wood said I couldn't quit. He said if I did then out team would be sunk and we would not be able to make up some of the points I lost. The rest of the team made it clear that they were upset with me and then ignored me for the rest of practice. Thankfully the Seeker doesn't have to interact too much with the other players." Harry ranted. Abby really felt sorry for him.

"I will try and talk to them," Abby said. "I mean Fred and George have lost plenty of point before." She gave him a reassuring smile.

"Thanks." Harry said awkwardly. The two of them didn't really know each other very well. Abby then saw the rest of the team coming back.

"I will see you guys later." Abby said as she got up and walked over to where her friends were sitting. She sat down next to Alicia.

"What were you doing with _them_?" Fred asked.

"Hermione happens to be a friend. I was asking her what happened." Abby said.

"They lost us one hundred fifty point!" George exclaimed. Abby rolled her eyes.

"I think you guys should give Harry a break. They were trying to help someone out." Abby tried to reason with them.

"Who cares why they did it. They were stupid and got caught past curfew and lost us the lead in the house cup. We are dead last now." Angelina said

"Yeah well we all do stupid things sometimes. Fred and George, how many points have you guys lost Gryffindor?" Abby threw at the twins.

"We've never lost that many in one night!" Fred defended.

"Not in one night, but you have probably lost at least that amount if not more over the course of the year. I mean you lost ten points on my birthday for setting off fireworks in the Great Hall." Abby was not backing down. The two of them thought about it a bit.

"I guess your right." George said quietly.

"They should still be taught a lesson." Alicia said.

"I think they get it." Abby said.

"Can we at least call him the Seeker for a bit?" Fred jokingly said.

"A long as you don't give him too hard of a time." Abby replied. She smiled at the fact that they had softened. George looked over to where Harry sat and gave a sigh. He smacked Fred on the shoulder and gestured to Harry. It surprised Abby when the twins got up and walked over to where Harry sat.

"You really have a good heart Abby." Alicia smiled at her best friend.

"I just don't like to see people treated poorly." Abby shrugged. Alicia and Angelina gave a little chuckle before they got up to grab their books from their dorm. The twins came back over soon after that,

"We let him know that although we are not happy with what he did, we understand that we all do stupid things, and not to sweat it to much." George said. Abby glanced over to the younger boy and noticed he was sitting a little taller. She smiled knowing that she probably just made his life a little easier.

The castle was in a frenzy the following weeks. Exams were finally upon them and everyone was on edge. Students spent hours pouring over their books trying to remember everything they learned this year. Finally the exams were over and students could be found relaxing outside by the lake.

Abby and the gang were spending the afternoon together. The boys had spent a little bit of time messing around with the giant squid. Once they got tired of that they found a shady tree to sit under. The six of them were lazing around just enjoying the freedom of being done with their exams. Fred, George and Lee had found a frog and were making it change colors.

"Can I join you guys?" Roger asked the group in general. He knew that Abby would have no problem with it, but her friends were still a bit apprehensive to his presence.

"Sure." Alicia said. Roger sat next to Abby. The boys all watched the Ravenclaw distrustfully. Abby nearly rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure if they were trying to be overprotective, or if they really did not like Roger.

"Are you guys ready for the match this weekend?" Roger asked the Gryffindor Quidditch players.

"Of course we are. We have the best team of the school this year!" Fred stated optimistically.

"Your probably right." Roger surprised the Gryffindors. "I mean you have a chemistry together that no other team really seems to have. Slytherin is close. But you have Potter. He is by far the best Seeker of the school right now."

"Do I sense a hint of jealousy?" George jokingly said. Roger laughed at that.

"I do have to admit, I am jealous of your Seeker." They continued to talk about Quidditch. The boys relaxed around Roger and Abby had to smile at this. They spent a couple more hours outside before they decided to head in and get ready for dinner.

"Would you want to take a little walk before dinner?" Roger asked Abby as they stood up. Abby looked over at Alicia and Angelina who both smiled. Alicia gave her a small nod.

"Sure." Abby replied. She watched her friends walk back to the castle and then turned her full attention to Roger. The two of them walked for a bit in comfortable silence. Finally Roger broke the silence.

"Abby, we have been spending a lot of time together." He said. "I like you, and I was wondering if you would want to go out with me?"

"I would like that," Abby replied quietly. Roger stopped and turned to face her. He had a big smile on his face.

"I know it's not the best timing since we will be going home in a week, but maybe we get together a couple of times over the summer." Roger happily said.

The two of them walked back up to the castle holding hands, and only separated when they reached the Great Hall. They each went to their own tables. Abby sat next to her Alicia.

"So?" Alicia prodded. Angelina also looked over to Abby looking for an answer. Fred rolled his eyes.

"What?" Abby asked innocently.

"What happened between you and Roger?" Alicia asked while smacking Abby on the arm.

"Well, we are officially an 'item'," Abby said as the two girls squealed and hugged their friend. Fred and Lee started to make gauging noises. George was oddly quiet.

"Abby! I need to talk to you!" Oliver Wood ran up to Abby as she was heading back up to the tower after breakfast. She turned and found a very frantic Oliver.

"What do you need?" She asked.

"Harry is unconscious in the hospital wing." He said between breaths.

"WHAT!? What happened?"

"I don't know the whole story yet. His two friends are also in the hospital wing, but they are apparently doing better than he is. Anyways, we don't have a back up Seeker, and tomorrow is the finals. I know you're a pretty good flyer, so could you take his place for tomorrow?" Oliver looked pleadingly to Abby.

"I don't know Oliver. I'm not really interested in playing competitively. And even if I was, I have never played as Seeker. I have only played Chaser and Keeper." Abby hesitated.

"Please Abby. I have no other choices. There are a couple of others who can fly decently, but not like you. Please! Please! Please!" Oliver begged.

"Alright," Abby sighed.

"Great! Do you have a broom here?" He perked up tremendously.

"Yes I do."

"Great. I am collecting the team and we are meeting down there in an hour." He ran off before she could say anything else.

Abby walked slowly back up to the castle. Oliver had said that she wasn't too bad. She was scared to death about tomorrow but she knew the team was confident in her abilities.

As she approached the front doors, she saw Roger sitting on the steps waiting for her. She saw him first and smiled. When he saw her he quickly got up and ran up to her.

"Hey, I heard what happened. So your playing Seeker tomorrow?" He said with a smile.

"Yeah. I'm not sure how good I will be, but apparently I am better then the alternatives. It's not going to be weird tomorrow will it?" Abby looked at Roger.

"No I don't think so. If you were a Chaser it might be, since we would be directly competing."

"Good. I was afraid that it might be weird with us just starting go out." She said. "Have you heard anything about what happened to Harry and his friends? I have been at the pitch all morning so I haven't heard anything."

"There are all sorts of crazy stories going around." Roger filled her in on the rumors that he had heard. They walked into the Great Hall and hesitated a bit. They both looked to their own tables.

"Do you want to join me at the Gryffindor table?" Abby softly asked. It was not common practice, but she had sat with him at the Ravenclaw table before.

"Sure, as long as they don't accuse me of being a spy and run me off." He joked. They walked over and sat down at the end of the table.

"What is the enemy sitting over here for?" Fred asked as they came and sat down near Abby and Roger. She knew that he was joking though because he was smiling.

"I promise, I am not here for information. I am just eating with my girlfriend." He calmly said, knowing the way the twins messed with people. They had a fun time eating and joking with each other. Toward the end of their meal, Ron and Hermione came in together. Fred and George saw their brother and waved him over.

"What happened little brother?" George asked. Ron and Hermione sat down with their group.

"Well you know the third floor corridor that was off limits this year?" Ron asked. Everyone nodded and urged him to keep going. "Well Professor Dumbledore was keeping something safe there. Unfortunately someone was trying to get it. We tried telling Professor McGonagal about it but she did not believe it. So we decided to try and stop him."

"Wait a minute. You three thought you could actually defend this mysterious object? Three first years?" Angelina asked.

"I didn't say it was a smart idea." Ron said as they all laughed.

"Well Harry would have gone even if we hadn't, so we figured three was better than one." Hermione mumbled.

"Anyways, there was a three headed dog we had to get past, some weird plant, some flying keys, and a giant chess board. I got hurt during the chess game so I don't know what else there was." Ron turned to Hermione who sighed and continued.

"There was also a troll, that fortunately we did not have to fight, and a logic puzzle that only allowed Harry to move on. I went back to find Ron and then Professor Dumbledore came down. We don't know what happened with Harry since he had been unconscious since." Hermione was not as chipper as Ron was about the adventure they had.

"Well we are glad that you are alright." Abby said giving Hermione a small hug.

"Are you ready for this?" George asked as he sat next to Abby.

"I feel like I'm going to be sick." She said. George chuckled and gave her pat on the back.

"It's normal before your first game. You'll be great." He gave her a smile

"Thanks. I don't know if I will be great." Abby tried to smile.

"You did great at practice yesterday. Just do your best. Even if we don't win, we will still be your friends." He gave her a cheeky smile. She shoved him, and finally managed to smile.

"Alright team, this is it." Oliver started his speech. Abby only half listened as she thought about what she was about to do. She enjoyed playing an occasional pick up Quiditch game, but this was different.

Finally the team got up and marched out to the field. Oliver and the Ravenclaw team captain shook hands. Before they took off, Roger gave her a smile and a small wink.

Once in the air, Abby focused on her task at hand. She circled the field looking for the small golden Snitch. The game went on for a couple of hours before she finally caught sight of it. Unfortunately, so did the other Seeker. The race was on. Her heart was racing and finally she closed her hand around it.

The next hour was a blur. She managed to land, and the rest of the team surrounded her and celebrated their victory. Professor Dumbledore presented Oliver the Quidditch cup. Finally the team cheerfully went into the locker room to clean up.

"Party in the common room!" Fred and George yelled as they left, no doubt going to snatch food for the party.

The four girls all walked back together. They stopped briefly in front of the hourglasses. Gryffindor was still behind Slytherin, however they at least were not in last place anymore.

"If we had another couple of weeks of classes, we could probably earn back those points, but since we are at the end of the term, I guess we can settle for 2nd place." Alicia sighed. Everyone had been so excited to finally beat Slytherin.

"There is always next year." Katie replied. They all nodded and started to walk up to the tower.

The party as always was loud and crazy, although not everyone seemed to be enjoying it fully. Ron and Hermione were quietly sitting in the corner. They were missing Harry, worried about how he was and feeling bad that he had missed the last game of the year. George also didn't seem quiet himself. Although he and Fred were having fun and playing some pranks, he was quieter then normal. Most people did not notice his change in demeanor, but Abby did. Unfortunately she did not get a chance to talk to him about it.

Harry woke up a couple of days later. Fred and George tried to send him a toilet seat to cheer him up when he woke up, but unfortunately Madam P. wouldn't allow it. It was a fun endeavor for the twins and a great story told in the common room. Ron and Hermione cheered up tremendously when they found out that Harry woke up and they were able to visit him.

Hermione confided with Abby about what had happened that night, after hearing the rest of the story from Harry. It was almost unbelievable to Abby that three first years were able to stop Voldemort from getting the Philosopher's stone. Abby felt honored that Hermione trusted her.

"Abby can I ask you something?" Hermione quietly said after she finished telling her the story.

"Sure" Abby replied as she absentmindedly petted her cat.

"Can I write to you over the summer. I don't have that many friends, and…" She trailed off.

"Of course you can write to me. You are my friend." Abby smiled kindly at her younger friend. "I will give you my address. Since we both live in a muggle neighborhood, it will probably be best to exchange letters through the mail, not by owl." Hermione broke into a huge smile and gave her friend a hug.

The end of the year feast was a huge surprise for everyone. Professor Dumbledore awarded some last minute points, allowing Gryffindor to win the House cup. Harry was very excited to hear that Gryffindor had won, although he was disappointed to miss it. Then before everyone knew it, they were on the train heading home.


	9. A New School Year

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

I know there are some of you who are wondering when people are going to find out about Abby being James' daughter. I plan on having a couple of people find out soon. Abby does not want to tell anyone because she feels that no one will her believe her. She is afraid that people will think that she is trying to get the Potter money and possible the fame. And although we know that Harry would love to have family, Abby does not know that.

I have a couple of ideas on how Abby can prove that her father is James Potter, but if you have any ideas I would love to hear them. I still haven't figured out exactly how I want it to happen.

I am happy to see so many people enjoying my story.

 _The Italic words are from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets._

* * *

 **A New School Year**

Abby's summer went by miserably slow. Most of her summer was spent alone at home reading while her mother was at work. She would see her grandmother occasionally when her mom worked.

She did get to do some fun things. Her mom was able to get a few days off of work and they took a short vacation to the beach. She went and visited Alicia a few times, which she always enjoyed.

She also saw Roger a couple of times over the summer. Of course that meant that Abby had to tell her mom about him, which prompted a long somewhat awkward conversation about boys and dating. But Abby was thankful that her mom was honest with her and didn't sugar coat things.

It was not a bad summer, however Abby was thankful when September first finally came. She was looking forward to the busyness of school. She looked forward to seeing her friends on a daily bases too. And of course she missed being able to use magic.

They arrived at the station very early. Unfortunately Diana had to get to work, and so Abby was one of the first students to arrive at the station. There were a few other early birds, but not many.

"I'm sorry dear that you have to be so early." Diana pulled her daughter into a tight hug.

"It's ok mom. I understand that they needed you to work today. Don't worry." Abby returned the hug.

"I love you Abby dear. Take care and don't forget to write."

"I will mom. You take care too. Don't work too hard. I promise mom that when I graduate I will take care of you so you don't have to work so much." Abby said sincerely.

"You don't need to worry about me." Her mom said as tears formed in her eyes. "Well, I need to go. Let me know if you need anything." After one more hug, Diana left and Abby was climbing onto the train.

She found a compartment in the middle of the train. After stowing away her trunk, she let Asha out of her basket. She sat with her cat on her lap and an open book. Slowly the train started to fill up around her.

"There you are!" Alicia exclaimed as she came skipping into the compartment. Abby closed her book. Since she had a cat on her lap, Alicia sat next to her and gave her a hug sitting down.

"Did you have a good rest of the summer?" Abby asked her best friend.

"Not bad. You?"

"A bit boring, but alright."

Not long after Alicia showed up, a bushy haired girl showed up. Hermione peeked her head in and smiled. She shyly sat next to Abby and gave her a hug.

"How was the rest of you summer Hermione?" Abby asked the younger girl. They had been exchanging letter all summer.

"Very good. But I am happy for school to start." Abby chuckled.

"I am looking forward to it too."

"Well I'm going to find a compartment and try and track down Harry and Ron." Hermione said as she stood up.

"Don't expect Ron to get here anytime soon. They are always running late and usually get here just before the train leave." Alicia commented.

"Harry was staying with the Weasleys, so they both will probably be here just before the train leaves then." Hermione sighed. She left the compartment as Angelina came in.

The train was filling up quickly and it was getting loud as students were greeting friends they hadn't seen in a while. Lee popped his head in and let the girls know that he would be back once the train started to move. When the whistle blew signaling the students that the train was going to be leaving soon, there was a frantic frenzy outside the train as parents said goodbye and students tried to get on the train.

"Do you mind if I joined you for the ride?" Roger said from the doorway. Abby looked up and smiled. Angelina got up and gave her seat next to Abby to Roger. Soon after that a small group of red heads appeared in the doorway.

"That was close!" Fred exclaimed.

"Almost didn't make it this year." George commented. The twins plopped down on a seat leaving a red headed girl standing in the doorway. There was no doubt about who she was. She was most certainly the youngest Weasley.

"You must be Ginny." Abby said giving her a smile. Ginny nodded.

"Don't let this shy act deceive you. She takes after us more then Percy." Fred laughed. Ginny turned red.

"Yeah, you don't want to get on her bad side." George remarked. Ginny gave George a swift kick, who happened to be closer to her than Fred, and ran away. "See what I mean!" The whole compartment laughed as George nursed his leg.

"Hey Fred and George, have you seen your brother and Harry?" Hermione said as she poked her head into the compartment.

"No, we went through the barrier before them, and Mom told us to get onto the train right away." George said.

"Ok, thanks," Hermione left.

The seven teenagers spent the rest of the train ride hanging out, talking and having fun. The trolley came by and they bought some treats. After the trolley lady left the twins started to tell the other about their adventure flying their dad's car to go get Harry. Using their normal tennis style story telling, they recounted how they snuck out in the middle of the night, flew the car to Little Whinging and broke Harry out of the house.

"We nearly didn't make it." Fred exclaimed.

"Harry's uncle had him by the ankle, and the three of us had to pull as hard as we could to get him into the car."

"It was an epic adventure."

"And we almost got away with it."

"You mean your mom caught you?" Lee asked.

"Yup." They said in unison.

"Spent the rest of the day de-gnoming the garden." Fred said leaning back and taking a bite from a chocolate frog.

"I can't believe Harry's relatives put bars on his window." Abby said quietly. She could not believe that anyone would do that to a twelve year old. What was Harry home life like?

The rest of the ride went by quickly. When the train arrived at the Hogsmeade station students departed the train and the usual chaos was present. First years were being called over to Hagrid, while older students pushed their way to the carriages.

When Abby and her friends reached the Great Hall, she said goodbye to Roger as they went over to the Gryffindor table and he went to the Ravenclaw table. Abby spotted Hermione, who was still alone.

"Where are the boys?" Abby asked her.

"I don't know. I still can't find them. I don't think they were on the train." Hermione responded a bit panicked.

"It's alright. I am sure that if they somehow missed the train, the professors will find a way to get them here." Abby tried to give her a reassuring smile, however she was just as concerned about them.

They sat down and soon the Sorting Ceremony began. Abby clapped for the first years, especially the new Gryffindors. When Ginny was finally sorted into Gryffindor, the students started their feast.

Throughout the feast, a funny rumor started to spread through the Great Hall. It always amazed Abby how quickly stories could spread at Hogwarts. Harry and Ron apparently had flown a car to Hogwarts and crashed into the Whomping Willow. The twins and Lee could not stop talking about it.

When the students were dismissed and the Gryffindors returned to the tower, the only thing anyone could talk about was Harry and Ron's entrance. Abby watched from the corner as the boys finally showed up and the tower wouldn't leave them alone.

"They are being treated like royalty." Hermione muttered as she sat next to Abby.

"Yeah, well, it's not everyday that students arrive by car." Abby responded

"I know. But they broke so many rules, and they don't even seem remorseful." Hermione said exasperated. She sighed and went up to bed. Abby decided to follow.

Abby walked into the Great Hall with her friend and they were accosted with the sound of Mrs. Weasley yelling at Ron.

"Oh man, mom sent him a Howler." George said.

"Better him then us." Fred commented shrugging his shoulders.

The group sat down and soon the screaming was done. Abby looked over and noticed Ron was a very red and Harry seemed to have lost his appetite. She did not have long to dwell on it because Professor McGonagall was passing around the schedules. They started to eat waiting for their timetables.

"What's first?" Lee asked after Professor McGonagall had given them their timetables.

"Charms this morning. I also have Muggle Studies." Angelina responded.

"Well at least we don't have Defense Against the Dark Arts today. Not sure if I am ready for Lockhart." Fred commented.

Their first few days of school went like they expected. Fourth year was not too much different from third year. Professors started to assign work right away, at least most of them. Professor Lockhart's class seemed a bit like a joke to Abby, but there were some students (mostly girls) who thought he was brilliant.

Despite the short first week, the student happily welcomed the weekend. Abby though found herself awake early on Saturday morning. She tried to go back to sleep, but was unsuccessful, so she grabbed a book and went down to the common room, followed closely by Asha.

"Abby, good, I need a favor." Wood came up to Abby.

"I am not joining the team Oliver." Abby sighed.

"I am not looking for any players this year. I actually have a full team this year. Although I could use a reserve player… but that is not what I need from you."

"What can I do for you?" Abby exhaled.

"Can you go and get Katie, Alicia, and Angelina? I want to have practice this morning, but I can't go up and get them." Oliver asked.

"Really? You are having practice today? But it's the first weekend in September. Your first game won't be until November!"

"I want to make sure that we get the cup again this year. I want to start early to make sure we have the edge." The maniac captain would not be persuaded differently. Abby shook her head and went back up the stairs.

The three girls were not happy with her, but thankfully they turned their frustration toward Oliver instead of Abby. After performing her task, she returned back to the common room to read. She found Asha curled up on a chair waiting for her. Abby sat and watched as the Quidditch team sleepily left. Harry was the last one to leave, being followed by a spunky first year with a camera.

Abby sat reading alone for about half an hour. Then Hermione came down the stairs and saw her. She walked over to Abby and sat next to her and started to pet Asha.

"How was your Friday?" Abby asked Hermione

"Not to bad. We learned more about the mandrakes in Herbology. In Charms and Transfiguration we reviewed some of our spells from last year. How about your Friday?" Hermione looked to the older girl. She was grateful that she had a girl friend she could talk with.

"Not to bad. I had double Potions in the afternoon. I don't mind brewing potions, I just don't like the class." Hermione nodded in understanding. The two of them had discussed this before. The two of them sat and talked for another half an hour until Ron came down the boy's stairs.

"Hey Hermione. Harry left me a not saying he is at Quidditch practice." Ron said a bit groggily.

"Practice? Already?" Hermione was confused.

"Yeah, apparently Oliver really wants to win again this year, so he is starting practice early this year." Abby said.

"How about we grab some breakfast and then go down to the field and watch." Ron suggested.

"Sounds good to me. Do you want to join us Abby?" Hermione asked.

"Sure." The three of them meandered down to the Great Hall. They grabbed some toast and marmalade and walked down to the Quidditch stadium. It was a beautiful day, so they enjoyed the walk. They found a seat in the stands. Abby noticed the first year had also found a seat in the stands with his camera. It was not long before the team came out of the locker room.

 _"_ _Aren't you finished yet? called Ron incredulously._

 _Haven't even started," said Harry._

They watched the team practice for a few minutes. Abby enjoyed watching her friend fly and pass the Quaffle around. Then Abby saw the Slytherin team come marching onto the field.

"What are they doing here?" Ron muttered.

"I don't know but nothing good can come from this," Abby commented. The three of them got up and made their way down to where the two teams were having a "discussion".

Abby knew that the situation was not good. The two teams were bitter rivals and didn't get along even off the field. It seemed that Harry and the new Slytherin Seeker were especially hostile toward each other. There was some exchanges between the two teams.

 _"_ _At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," said Hermione sharply. "They got in on pure talent."_

 _"_ _No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," Malfoy spat._

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Well really it was like the log the broke the camels back. Fred and George lunged toward the Malfoy kid. Abby managed to grab George, although she had a hard time holding him back. Marcus Flint jumped in front of Malfoy in order to prevent Fred from reaching him. Angelina and Alicia were screaming at him. With all this going on, Abby did not see Ron pull out his wand and try to fire a spell. However because his wand was broken, it fired the wrong way. Ron went flying backward across the grass.

"Ron!" Hermione yelled as she ran to him. George tensed up even more next to Abby as he realized what had happened to his brother. Ron sat up and opened his mouth to speak. But instead of words coming out, Ron belched up several slugs.

The Slytherin team was having a field day with this. Fortunately the Gryffindors were more concerned about Ron, and gathered around him. Harry and Hermione decided to take him to Hagrid's hut since it was close. By the time this was decided the Slytherin team was on their way to the locker room.

"We can't practice now with them here. We will practice tomorrow." Wood said and briskly walked back to the locker room.

Abby waited for her friends to put their brooms away and they walked back up to the castle together. They were able to snatch some food from the Great Hall on their way back to the tower. They entered the common room and found a corner to sit in.

"That Malfoy is a fine piece of work." Alicia exclaimed as she plopped down on the chair.

"I wish I could have punched him." George grumbled. "Why did you stop me?"

"Hitting him would have solved nothing. In fact it would have made things worse." Abby defended.

"It would have made me feel better." He muttered.

"We know that his opinion will not change. All it would have accomplished is putting you in detention and losing us some points." Abby stated.

"Wood is crazy!" Angelina cried, trying to change the subject. Abby was thankful because she knew that this could turn foul if they kept talking about it.

"I can't believe he got us up at dawn on our first weekend back." Fred muttered.

"If this is how he is now, what will it be like right before our first match?" George asked. The others just shook their heads.

"I need to blow off some steam." Fred said as he jumped up. "Are you coming?" He asked his brother.

"Let's hope they don't get caught doing whatever they decided to do." Angelina sighed as they watched the twins leave the common room.

Later that evening Hermione came over and sat next to Abby on the couch she had occupied. Alicia and Angelina were sitting close by, all three of them trying to get their potion's assignment done.

"Can I talk to you about something?" Hermione said softly.

"Sure. You know you can always come to me." Abby said as she closed her potion's book.

"The thing that Malfoy called me… is that how many wizards see people like me?" Hermione stared at her hands.

"Did Ron tell you what it means?" Hermione nodded. Abby gave a sigh. "Unfortunately it is a common point of view in the wizarding world. Many people believe that those who have muggle parents are inferior."

"It just doesn't make sense." Hermione said looking up to Abby.

"It doesn't. I agree. But many feel that those with Wizarding heritage are better. The 'pureblood' families feel that because they can trace their family tree back several generations and prove they have magical blood that they are better then others and deserve more."

"Those families do have a lot of money and power." Alicia put in.

"So muggleborns are treated horribly?" Hermione asked.

"Some people treat them poorly." Abby said

"But not everyone feels that way Hermione." Angelina tried to reassure the younger girl.

"I just don't see why it matters." Hermione said exasperated.

"If you look at ability, it doesn't. And there are lots of people who don't care. Most witches and wizards are half blood anyways." Abby said.

"I am considered half-blood. Both my parents are magical, however neither of them are pureblood." Alicia said.

"I am half-blood too. My mom is a pureblood, but my dad is considered half-blood, so I am too." Angelina put in. They turned to Abby. She hesitated.

"Your half-blood too, right Abby?" Alicia assumed.

"Actually I am technically a pureblood, however I cannot prove who my father is, so there is no way to prove it." She responded quietly. Her friend stared at her.

"You know who your father is?" Alicia asked.

"My mom told me about him, but again I can't prove it. No one knew that he was my father so no one can really back up my mom's story." Abby looked down at her hands. The friends were quiet for a bit.

"Well, you see Hermione, it really does not matter. We won't hold it against Abby that she is pureblood." Angelina teased Abby, who gave her a smile.

"It's not what other's think about you, it what your friends think about you that matters." Abby said smiling.

"You're right." Hermione said, although she did not seemed convinced.

"Hermione, you have two really good friends over there." Abby said as she pointed over to the boys playing chess on the other side of the room. "They like you for who you are, not your family. Ron was willing to defend you, and I am sure the only reason that Harry didn't do anything was because he did not know what the word meant." Hermione nodded.

"Don't worry so much about what that Malfoy kid thinks. We all know that you are way better then he is." Alicia smiled.

"Thank you." Hermione had a couple of tears glide down her cheek. She gave Abby a hug and went over to where the boys were sitting.

"It's a shame she has to learn about the ugly side of our world." Angelina said. The other two girls agreed.


	10. The Chamber is Opened

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own Harry Potter.

 _Words in Italics are from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets._

Sorry for the bit of a delay. I was in a car accident and had to deal with that. Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter, and if you don't, then you don't have to read my story.

* * *

September turned into October, bringing with it rain and colds. Abby was one of the unlucky students who had to visit Madam Pomfrey and get a dose of Pepperup Potion. Her friends made fun of her as ears spewed out smoke for several hours. Luckily she did not have red hair like Ginny who also had to take some of the potion. The red hair in combination with the smoking ears made Ginny look like she was on fire.

One particular rainy Saturday Abby found herself studying in the Library with Roger while her friends were at Quidditch practice. She looked out the window and thought about her poor friends getting drenched out there.

"Have you finished your Charms essay yet?" Roger asked. Abby snapped out of her thought and looked down at her essay.

"No, almost there though." She said.

"Do you want to look at mine?" He asked.

"No thanks. I understand the concept; it's just getting the words down. I actually think I need to take a break. I'm going to head back to the tower." Abby started to collect her things. She could tell that Roger was disappointed, but Abby could not stand to be in the quiet library anymore today. And the Gryffindor common room was warmer than the library.

When she reached the tower, she found a seat near the fireplace, knowing her friends would appreciate the warmth once they returned. She pulled a book on warding using runes she had found in the library. After a while her friends came through the portrait hole wet and muddy. They grumbled as they went up to the dorms to change. Once clean and dry, they found their way to Abby near the fireplace. Fred and George held a box and had mischievous grins on their faces.

"Do I want to know what's in the box?" Abby asked, eyeing the box suspiciously.

"It's just a salamander we rescued from class yesterday." George said innocently.

"We though he would like to help us with a little experiment." Fred replied in a similar manner. The girls chuckled.

"Well whatever you are going to do, please go over there and leave us out of it." Angelina said, finding a spot next to Abby.

It did not take long for a crowed to form around the twins, who were trying to feed a Filibuster firework to the salamander. Then there was some loud whizzing and sparks coming from the salamander. Percy did not approve of this activity and let the twins know, while the girls laughed wildly at the display. Whilst Percy was lecturing them loudly the salamander managed to escape into the fire, but there were still occasional explosions the rest of the night.

Alicia and Abby were the first to head up to the dorm that evening. The two of them slowly walked up the stairs with Asha following close behind. Abby went to her trunk and started to get ready.

"Hey Abby, would you mind if I borrow this book. I have been wanting to read it." Alicia picked up the book on Abby's nightstand. As she did this a picture fell out of the book. Abby realized too late what picture she had put in the book. She tried to grab it before Alicia saw it, but Alicia got to it first.

"Who is this Abby? He looks like…" Alicia looked up at Abby, then back at the picture, and once again back to Abby with wide eyes. Abby sighed knowing she was not getting out of this.

"That is a picture of my father."

"He looks just like Harry, except for his eyes." Alicia stared at the picture.

"Yeah, I inherited his eyes, while I believe Harry got his mom's eyes." Abby sat on the bed.

"So you and Harry have the same dad?!" Alicia was still trying to grasp it. Abby nodded. "How?"

"Do we need to have the talk?" Abby tried to joke with Alicia. Alicia rolled her eyes. Abby gave a sigh. "Well my mom was a year ahead of Harry's dad. They dated my mom's seventh year. They broke up and then my mom found out she was pregnant with me. Apparently when he returned to Hogwarts the following year he started to date Harry's mom, and well we know how that ended up."

"So you are technically a Potter?" Alicia indicated.

"Well, I guess so, although I have my mom's last name because She was not married to James when I was born. That and I think She did not want to cause a scandal for him and let him have a normal life."

"No one knows though about James Potter being your dad?" Alicia asked.

"As far as I know. Mom told my grandparents, but she does not know if he ever told his parents or any of his friends."

"Does Harry know?" Alicia looked at her best friend.

"No," Abby shook her head. "I don't want to create any problems for him."

"What do you mean? How would you create problems for him?" Alicia was confused.

"Well if I started to tell everyone that James Potter was my father they might think I am crazy, that I am trying to get the Potter money, or I am trying to get the fame. I don't want to have people talk about us. I don't want Harry to think that of me either." Abby slowly stroked her cat who was laying down on the bed next to her.

"But Harry deserves to know that he has a sister!" Alicia exclaimed.

"How do you think he would take it if I walked up to him and said 'by the way I am your half sister'. It would turn his world upside down. He may not want to have a big sister." Abby voiced her concern quietly.

"He may not, but he still deserves to know. But I think he would take it better than you think." Alicia said as she turned to finish getting ready for bed. She knew her friend and knew that she would not get through to her tonight, but she was not going to give up.

Abby quickly climbed into bed and pulled the curtains closed to give her some privacy. She held Asha close to her and thought about what Alicia said. She was thankful that Alicia had just accepted the fact that James Potter was her father, but she knew Alicia did not approve of her keeping it a secrete. Maybe her friend was right. Maybe she should talk to Harry.

On October 31st, Abby woke up once more to the smell of pumpkin. She loved Halloween. Everyone was anticipating the feast that evening. As always the Great Hall was decorated fantastically. The giant pumpkins that Hagrid had been growing had been carved beautifully. As always there were rumors going about of different things that were planned for the feast, such as a troupe of dancing skeletons and chocolate bats that flew over the tables.

It was a very nice feast, and she was thankful that there were no trolls this year. She and her friends enjoyed themselves. She felt bad that Hermione, Ron, and Harry were missing this. Hermione had told her last night that they were going to a Deathday party.

After the feast, they started to make their way up to the tower. However they were prevented from going very far. There were murmurs about something being written on the wall. Then Abby heard Malfoy's cold voice rise above the murmurs.

 _"_ _Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, mudbloods!"_

There was chaos. Soon several professors pushed their way through the crowd and led a small group of students away. Abby did not get a good look, but she had sinking feeling that she knew who the three students were.

The prefects started to send students on their way, but everyone wanted to see what was on the wall. Eventually Abby and her friend managed to get to the wall. Roger was there and went up to Abby.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIED OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

"What do you think it means?" Roger asked her quietly.

"I'm not sure. I don't know if I have ever heard of a Chamber of Secrets." Abby replied.

"I will see what I can find out about it. Maybe there is something in Hogwarts: A History. I can't remember if I brought my copy or not." Roger said. They parted ways and went to their own towers.

In the Gryffindor tower, students were talking about what had happened. Some of the students who were closer to the front informed everyone that Mrs. Norris had been found, but no one knew exactly what had happened. Finally people started to head to bed a little bit before midnight.

The next day Hermione filled Abby in on what had happened in Professor Lockhart's office. It had shocked Abby to find out that Mrs. Norris was petrified. Abby could tell there were a couple of things Hermione did not tell her about though.

Roger caught up with her the next day as well and said that Hogwart: A History did not really give him any information. All it did was say there was a legion about a secret chamber that Salazar Slytherin had built, but no one could prove its existence. Abby shared this information with her friend and with Hermione. Hermione seemed determined to find more information.

Abby had to give her credit. Hermione had decided to ask Professor Binns, and although he did not have a lot of information to give, they found out a couple of other pieces of information.

They found out that there was a creature that supposedly lived in the chamber that only the heir of Slytherin could control. They also found out that Slytherin was a big believer in pureblood supremacy.

The chamber of secrets was all the students at Hogwarts talked about. There was even a crazy rumor that Harry was the heir of Slytherin because he was the first one at the scene of the crime.

Of course as the Slytherin-Gryffindor game approached, everyone started to talk more about the game than about the Chamber of Secrets. Everyone knew that the Slytherin team all had brand new brooms. But there was a consensus that Gryffindor's team had the best talent. This of course made the Slytherins angry.

The morning of the Quidditch game, Abby and Roger walked hand in hand down to the stadium together. Abby really liked not having to walk down alone. They found a spot close to where the other Gryffindors were.

"Should be an exciting game." Roger commented. Abby nodded in agreement.

They couldn't really continue talking because the two teams walked out of the locker rooms. The stadium exploded with noise. Everyone was excited for the game. And then the game began.

It did not take long for them to realize that this once again was not an ordinary game. One of the Bludgers was going after Harry. No matter how hard the twins hit it, it would return to Harry.

"Bludgers aren't supposed to do that." Roger stated.

"I know. Someone must have tampered with it." Abby replied. She could not keep her eyes off of Harry. Now the twins were flying on either side of Harry and ready to hit the Bludger when it came close.

"It takes some powerful magic to tamper with the Quidditch balls. I don't think a students could do it." Roger was also watching the young Seeker.

"Can't they stop the game?" Abby asked.

"Not without forfeiting. Even though it is obvious that the Bludger has been tampered with, the rules are clear. Whichever teams asks to stop the game is forfeiting, and the other team wins." Abby did not like that. She was worried for Harry.

As it started to the rain the team called for a time out. And when they returned to the game, Fred and George were not surrounding Harry. Despite the falling drops, the team continued to play. Harry now was doing some crazy moves to try and get the Bludger. Some people were laughing at this, as it looked like Harry was doing some sort of dance on his broom. But the quick moves helped to slow the Bludger down and prevent it from hitting Harry.

"He is a natural on a broom. Man I wish he was in Ravenclaw. We would have a killer team with him." Roger said as he watched Harry. Abby chuckled.

WHAM

Harry had stood still for a second to long and the Bludger slammed into Harry's elbow. Abby cringed. But the Bludger was not done. It continued to come after Harry. Thankfully Harry swerved and got out of the way before it hit him in the face. He then pelted toward Malfoy and grabbed the snitch with his uninjured arm. When he reached the ground he fainted.

The Gryffindor team landed and went over to check on their Seeker, as well as Abby and most of the Gryffindor House. Professor Lockhart pushed his way through and reached Harry just as he was waking up.

 _"_ _Oh, no, not you," Harry moaned._

 _"_ _Doesn't know what he's saying," said Lockhart loudly to the anxious crowd of Gryffindors pressing around them._

Abby watched as Harry argues with the professor and then Lockhart attempting to fix Harry's arm. The result was not a pleasant sight. It looked like his arm had lost all of its bones. Ron and Hermione managed to push their way to their friend and escorted him to the Hospital wing.

There was a party in the tower that night, but it was not as lively as it normally is. The team had wanted to celebrate with Harry, but Madam Pomfrey had kicked them out.

The news about the first year who was found petrified traveled through the caste the next morning. For weeks the castle was on edge. Students whispered about ways to stay safe. The first years were especially jumpy.

One evening Abby, Alicia, and Angelina sat together trying to finish their Care of Magical Creature's assignment. Fred and George climbed through the portrait hole covered in hair and boils.

"Been trying to cheer up Ginny again?" Angelina asked. All the girls had told them that it was a bad idea, but when the twins got something in their mind, it was hard to persuade them otherwise.

"Nothing seems to work. Unfortunately perfect Percy caught us and gave us a lengthy lecture." Fred informed the girls. They joined the girls and started to pull out their own books.

"Can you two remove the boils at least? I can't stand to look at you two." Alicia said. The boys looked at each other and laughed. They then got to work countering the spells they had placed upon each other.

"Fred, George? Can I borrow one of your fireworks?" Ron asked as he approached his brothers.

"Why, little brother, do you need a firework" George asked him.

"I can't tell you." He replied, studying his shoes very intently. Fred and George glanced at each other and shrugged. Fred reached into his pocket and pulled one out, giving it to Ron.

"Good luck." They said in unison as Ron practically ran back to Harry and Hermione.

"What do you think he is going to do with one firework?" George asked his brother.

"Who knows? But it's good to see he is following in our footsteps instead of Percy's." Fred replied.

Abby watched as Ron returned to his friends. The three second years were huddled together and obviously planning something. Maybe she should talk to Hermione about it. She did not want a repeat from last year when they had been shunned for losing a large amount of House points. However she never got the opportunity to do so.

A week later Abby and Roger were walking to the Great Hall for lunch when they saw a large crowed around the notice board.

"I wonder what's going on?" Abby pondered.

"Not sure." Roger stated as they walked into the hall, avoiding the large crowd. They separated and went to their own tables. Abby sat down with her friends

"What's all the commotion around the notice board about?" Abby asked her friends.

"A Dueling Club is starting up tonight." Alicia said.

"Sounds interesting." Abby replied.

"Yeah, we think we might go tonight to see what it's all about." George said.

So that night they walked into the Great Hall and found a golden stage had replaced the long dining tables. Most of the school showed up to see what this was about. Abby and her friends talked animatedly about what they thought it would be like, and who would be teaching them.

Then Professor Lockhart, dressed in deep plum robes, and Professor Snape walked onto the stage.

 _Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called, "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!"_

Lockhart welcomed the students and introduced what they were doing there. After talking a bit, the two professors prepared to demonstrate a duel. They faced each other and gave a bow that represented their own personalities. Lockhart gave a flourished bow with much hand twirling, while Snape just jerked his head a bit. Then they raised their wands.

 _"_ _As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."_

It was exciting to watch Snape blast Lockhart off his feat. Some students, mostly Slytherin, cheered, while other students, mostly witches, muttered concerns for Lockhart. He got up and tried make it seem as if he had planned it that way to show the students. Abby was then surprised when they paired people off without much more instruction.

"It's going to be chaos," She muttered to Alicia before she was paired up with a girl in Hufflepuff she barely knew. They were instructed to face their partner and bow to them, which Abby and the Hufflepuff did. Then they were instructed to disarm only.

When Lockhart counted to three, just as Abby had predicted there was chaos. Many students ignored the instruction to disarm only. Thankfully Abby's partner did just what had been asked of her, and they two girls ended up hitting each other with the disarming spell and finding themselves both on the floor. Abby got up and helped her partner up.

Abby looked over to her friends. Angelina was helping Alicia stand up. Alicia seemed to have twisted her ankle somehow. Fred had sent a tickling spell to his opponent, but he seemed to be laughing just as hard as his partner. George and the Slytherin he had been partnered with were still throwing spells at each other. Lee was also in an intense duel with a Slytherin.

Finally Lockhart called everyone to stop, although some did not follow the directions right away. It took a bit before everyone settled down. Lockhart then decided it was best to demonstrate how to block a spell. The two professors brought Harry and the Malfoy kid up to the stage.

Lockhart was instructing Harry. Abby noticed that he looked very confused at what Lockhart was telling him. Snape on the other hand was instructing Malfoy, who looked a little too eager to start the duel.

What happened when the duel began was surprising. Malfoy conjured up a long black snake. The crowed screamed and backed away from the snake who looked like it was ready to strike. Lockhart offered to get rid of it, but instead flew it into the air, and made it even more upset. It angrily slithered up to a second year Hufflepuff.

Then Harry approached the snake and started to speak in hisses. Everyone was shocked. Abby noticed that the snake had stopped its attack, but everyone was more focused on the fact that Harry had spoken Parseltongue.

 _"_ _What do you think you're playing at?"_ The first year shouted. He then stormed out of the hall. Harry stood there shell shocked as Snape vanished the snake. Before much else could happen Ron and Hermione dragged Harry out of the hall.

The hall began to whisper about what had happened. Many of them were speculating if Harry really was the heir of Slytherin since he was a Parselmouth.

"That's crazy. Who knew Harry was a Parselmouth." Angelina said as the six friends gathered together.

"What do you think this means?" Lee pondered.

"I don't think it really means anything." Abby stated. "Pareselmouth is not a common gift, but it's not something you can decide to have or not have."

"What if he really is the Heir of Slytherin like everyone is saying?" Lee asked. Fred and George started to laugh.

"Really? Harry the heir of Slytherin?" They said together.

"I mean look at who one of his best friends is." Fred said

"The heir of Slytherin would not be friends with a muggleborn." George finished.

"You have to admit that it's a bit fishy," Lee stated.


	11. Breaking Up

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

I know that it has been a while. Life got in the way of my writing.

* * *

 **Breaking Up**

The rumor that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin was whispered throughout the castle. The rumors just got worse when Harry was found next to another petrified student. Even Abby had to admit it did not look good, although she knew he wasn't the heir.

Harry was not taking it very well. Abby watched as he got frustrated with everyone. People acted like he was going to all of a sudden sprout fangs and attack them. Then there were the twins that decided to make fun of the whole situation. They would march in front of Harry and announce him as the Heir of Slytherin.

A few days before the end of the term, Abby was in the library with Roger. She heard a couple of third years talking about Harry. She was so frustrated with everything.

"I wish people would stop talking about Harry like he was dangerous." Abby whispered just loud enough for Roger to hear her.

"For all we know, he might be. He found two of the three attacks, and the other one was near the hospital wing when he was staying the night there. He can speak Parseltongue, and everyone knows that Slytherin was known for being a Parselmouth." Roger said quietly.

"You can't really believe he is the Heir." Abby was shocked.

"I don't know if he is or isn't. I am just saying it is suspicious." Roger stated.

"I think I am done studying for the day." Abby said and left abruptly. Roger watched her leave, confuse as to why she was upset.

Abby angrily walked up to the Gryffindor tower. When she walked into the common room, she scanned the room and found Harry sitting with Ron and Hermione. She went over to him.

"Harry, I want you to know I don't believe that you're the Heir of Slytherin." Abby abruptly exclaimed. Harry stared at her and blinked. Hermione had to elbow him to get his attention back.

"Thank you," Harry stuttered quietly. "It's good to hear that some people believe me."

"You know that we believe you too." George said as the twins approached Harry after hearing Abby's statement.

"Yeah, all that talk about you being the Heir and going to the Chamber of Secrets, we are just joking. You know that right?" Fred said.

"I know. Although I think it bothers some people." Harry said as he eyed Ginny sitting in the corner alone. The twins glance over to where Harry was looking.

"We probably should stop," George said. Fred just nodded. Several other students came over and also let Harry know they believed and supported him. Abby noticed some students still hung back, but at least Harry knew he wasn't alone. She watched as he relaxed.

The next few days went by quickly and Abby found herself on the train with Alicia and Angelina. The three of them were relaxing and talking about their plans for the break. Half-way through the ride the compartment door slide open.

"Abby, could we talk?" Roger said from the door. Abby looked over at her friends.

"We will take a walk," Angelina said as she dragged Alicia out. Roger came in and sat across from Abby.

"I wanted to know what happened the other day in the library. Why did you leave so suddenly?"

"I believe that Harry isn't the Heir. He says he is not, and although it looks bad, he really has nothing to do with the attack. I got upset because you were sounding like the other students." Abby said.

"I told you I don't know what to believe. I need more evidence either way." Roger said like a true Ravenclaw.

"Harry is a good kid, and does not deserve people talking about him like they are." Abby said quietly. Roger gave a sigh.

"If it makes you feel better, I will try and stop people from talking about Harry. Most of the Ravenclaws I can reason with them and tell them we need more solid evidence before we can jump to any conclusions." He said, trying to make things right.

"Thank you." She gave him a smile.

"Well, have a merry Christmas," He returned the smile and left. Ten minutes later Alicia and Angelina returned.

"Where's Roger?" Alicia asked. "I would have thought he would want to spend more time with you."

"He left. We fixed things up from earlier this week though." Abby replied. Alicia and Angelina exchanged glances. Whatever they were thinking though, they did not share it.

Diana met her daughter at the train station. Mother and daughter exchanged a warm embrace before they grabbed Abby's things and went home.

"So, you've had an interesting term." Diana said as she drove them home. Abby of course had filled her mom in through letters.

"Yeah." Abby replied quietly.

"Anything else happen since your last letter?" Diana asked her quiet daughter. Abby sighed.

"Roger and I had a fight. Well I don't even know if you can call it a fight." Abby then proceeded to tell her mother what had happened in the library and on the train. Diana listened quietly, letting her talk.

"And he just left?" Diana asked when she realized Abby had finished.

"Yes. Alicia and Angelina thought it was strange. Is it strange that he didn't stay?" Abby asked. Diana thought about it a bit.

"I don't know sweetheart. I don't know Roger all that well. Normally though boyfriends want to spend time with their girlfriends."

"How do you know if a relationship is… right?" Abby hesitated.

"I am not sure if I am the right person to ask. None of my relationships were 'right'." Diana said. By this point they had arrived home. Diana parked the car and turned to her daughter. "I had one relationship before you father, and we fought constantly. I finally realized I couldn't live with it. Your father, well, I couldn't see a future with him, and then I got pregnant and I did not want him to feel trapped in a relationship. Since him I haven't really had a relationship."

"I am just not sure if it is right with Roger." Abby finally said.

"Maybe you should take some time to think about it over Christmas. Then I suggest you talk with him." Diana softly told her daughter. Abby nodded.

"Thanks mom." She gave her mom a small smile. Diana reached over and gave her a hug, or at least the best you can give in a car. "Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Of course," Diana watched her daughter curiously.

"Do you think I should tell Harry that we have that same father?" Abby asked looking for advice. Alicia had been pushing Abby to tell Harry about their shared paternity.

"Honestly dear, I am not sure." Diana slowly responded. "I have thought about the same thing for a while. I wondered if I should have tried and find him and tell him. But no one knew where Harry was placed after his parents died. I guess I also thought that it was not fair for me to come and shake up his world."

The two of them sat quietly in the car for a bit, both lost in their thoughts. Diana thought about what could have been and questioning her decisions in her life. Abby thought about the young boy she would love to be an older sister to, but wondered if he would want it.

"Let's go in and have some dinner. We can talk about this more once our stomachs are full."

"Hermione is in the hospital wing!?" Abby asked surprised. Fred and George nodded.

"We don't know what happened."

"But she has been in the hospital wing since the day after Christmas."

"What did Ron and Harry say happened?" Abby inquired.

"They were really weird about it. They said she had some sort of mishap, and then wouldn't say anything else about it." George said.

"I wonder if it is too late to go see her?" Abby pondered.

"Probably," Alicia said. Abby huffed and settled down on the couch. She knew she would not be able to stop worrying about the younger girl until she saw her and knew for sure that she was ok.

The next day Abby somehow got through her classes. Abby went up to the hospital wing before dinner.

"Miss Granger does not want any visitors," Madam Pomfrey stated sternly.

"I really want to see her. Tell her Abby wants to visit with her. Please?" Abby pleaded. The snippy Madam Pomfrey went in for a bit, and returned shortly.

"You have ten minutes," She said sternly.

Abby did not know what she was expecting, but what she saw was surprising. Hermione was covered in black fur, and her eyes were yellow.

"What happened?!" Abby exclaimed.

"Oh Abby, I did something stupid." Hermione said with tears in her eyes. She then proceeded to tell Abby about the Polyjuice potion that she had brewed and what the boys had found out about the Chamber of Secrets.

"I should be upset about you guys breaking so many rules, but I am friends with the Weasley twins and they get into just as much trouble, if not more. I think Ron and Harry are having a bad influence on you. I am actually impressed that you were able to brew such an advanced potion." Abby said with a smile. Hermione smiled back, feeling better now that she knew Abby wasn't upset.

"I haven't had a lot to do here in the Hospital Wing, so I did some research. I found a way for you to prove your paternity." Hermione said as she pulled out a sheet of parchment with notes on it. Abby stared at Hermione for a bit.

"You found a way to show that my father is really my father?" She asked once she got her voice back.

"I found several ways. I found a potion that if you put your blood and the blood of your father in it will turn blue if he is your father. However there is some debate as to how reliable it really is."

"I would not be able to do that anyways because I would not be able to get his blood." Abby said. When she saw Hermione's confused look she clarified her statement. "I would not be able to get it because he is dead."

"Ok, so that option is definably out. There was reference to a spell that did something similar, but I could not find the incantation in any of the books. But the most reliable option would be to get a Heritage Test done at Gringotts. There are two different types. One gives you your full wizarding family tree, while the other one just informs you of the past two or three generations."

"I think my mom had to do that so she could get a new key for her vault. She pricked her finger and dropped some blood on the parchments. I wasn't able to read what was on the paper, but I did see words forming." Abby thought back to that first visit to Gringotts.

"The book said that most people get the basic Heritage Test when opening a vault up for the first time or if they need to prove their identity, like if they lose their key. The more extensive one is use primarily for pureblood marriage contracts. Both parties get the test done to prove their family 'purity'." Hermione read off of her notes. "I think just getting a basic test would be enough to prove who your father is."

Abby sat there thinking for a bit. She wanted to be able to prove that James Potter was her father. But then she thought about something here mother had said years earlier.

"I think there is an age requirement. My mom said one time that there was a way, but since my dad is not alive anymore, I will have to wait until I am seventeen."

"I didn't read anything about an age requirement, but there might be something if you don't have both of your parents present." Hermione was deep in thought.

"Thanks Hermione. I appreciate the time you put into this." She gave her young friend a hug just as Madam Pomfrey came over and told Abby that her time was up.

Abby did not get a chance to talk with Roger until the weekend. She was not looking forward to the conversation, but knew it was important to have. So on Saturday afternoon Abby and Roger found an empty classroom to talk. They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes until Abby abruptly broke the silence.

"Do you think our relationship is right?"

"What do you mean by right?" Roger hesitated.

"I mean should we keep dating. I like you Roger, but I am not sure if there is a future for us." Abby said.

"I think you're a great person Abby," Roger replied slowly. "However I agree with you. I am not sure we should stay together. They sat there silently for a bit longer.

"So I guess we are breaking up?" Abby asked.

"I guess so," He nodded. "But we can still be friends."

With that they gave each other a hug and went their own ways. Abby found her friends sitting near the fire. She sat down next to Alicia.

"Weren't you going to go see Roger?" Alicia asked.

"We broke up." All eyes snapped to her.

"What happened?" Angelina and Alicia asked in unison.

"Well we both agreed that although we think the other person is great, it's not enough to stay in the relationship." Abby replied.

"So it was a mutual thing," Alicia asked. Abby nodded.

"Thankfully I did not have to break his heart." Abby said "But I think I am done talking about it." Her friends took the hint and went back to what they were doing. Only Alicia noticed that George wore a small smile.


	12. Things get Worse

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Words in italics come from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

* * *

 **Things get Worse**

The day after Abby broke up with Roger, she woke up to a bright sunny day. For once she was not the first one up. She got ready and went down to the common room to find her friends.

"How are you doing?" Alicia asked.

"I'm fine, honestly." Abby responded. "We both agreed that it was not working. It was best to break up now then let it go on and have a messy break up later." Alicia looked at her skeptically.

"How about breakfast?" Angelina suggested. Just as they were preparing to go down to the Great Hall, the boys came down and joined them.

After breakfast the group walked up to the Gryffindor common room, but before they reached their destination they ran into Roger, who seemed to get over the break up by plastering his face onto another girl. It took Abby a couple of seconds to realize what she was seeing.

"I think I better take another way back," Abby said as she turned and ran the opposite direction. She did not pay attention to where she was running, but eventually she found an empty classroom. She closed the door behind her and found a corner. She did not know how long she sat there crying but eventually the door opened quietly.

"Abby? Are you in here?" George said quietly.

"Yeah, I'm in here," She said wiping her eyes. George sat down next to her.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"No." She said as tears started to fall again. "I mean we broke up yesterday. I mean who hooks up with someone the day after you break up with your girlfriend. And we dated for several months, and he never even gave me a peck on the cheek, let alone snog me like that. " She started to sob.

George was unsure what to do. Normally he would try and do something funny, or pull a prank to cheer someone up, however that did not seem like the right thing to do. He uncertainly put his arm around her shoulders. She turned and cried into his shoulder. He decided to put his other arm around her and pull her closer. She cried for several minutes. Finally she calmed down and the two of them separated.

"Roger is an idiot. I'm sorry he hurt you like that." George said softly.

"Thank you George." Abby smiled at her friend. "How did you find me?"

"Oh, I have my ways." He gave her a mischievous grin. "How did you know it was me and not Fred?

"I have my ways," She responded with a smile. "Although I have to say that did not expect you to comfort me. I figured you and Fred would try and pull a prank on me to try and cheer me up."

"Yeah, well, we probably still will." George grinned. He stood up and then helped Abby get up. The two friends quietly walked back up to the tower.

Abby was miserable the following weeks. For the first time in the four years at Hogwarts, she actually did not want to be there. Classed were torture. She could not focus on the classwork, and often made silly mistakes. She forgot to complete homework, or her quality went down hill. Some of the professors asked her what was going on to try and help her, but other just told her she needed to shape up and gave her detentions.

Then there were the classes with Roger in them. The girl he was dating now was a Ravenclaw, so they sat next to each other. No matter what Abby did she could not avoid seeing the two of them.

She was becoming irritable, and often snapped at her friends. Actually she snapped at almost anyone who bothered her. Most people tried to avoid her, and her friends were at their wits end trying to deal with her.

One February morning Abby woke up and gloomily got ready for the day like she did every day. But when she walked into the Great Hall her stomach gave a lurch. She had forgotten that it was February fourteenth. Unfortunately for her the Great Hall had been decorated in a way that no one could forget what day it was. The walls were covered with large, gaudy pink flowers, and heart-shaped confetti was falling from the ceiling.

Abby turned to leave, but Alicia dragged her to the Gryffindor table. She sat at the table, just staring at the food and the heart-shaped confetti that was now starting to cover the table.

"We have a surprise for you," Fred said as he sat down across from her.

"Consider it an early birthday present, "George smiled as he sat next to his brother.

"We hope it will cheer you up," The twins motioned for her to look at the door. She turned and saw Roger walking in, except his normally dark hair was now a florescent pink.

"Hey Davies, like the new do!" Shouted Fred causing several people to turn and look at Roger. Roger turned and gave the twins a death glare as laughter erupted around the Great Hall. He promptly put his hat on to try and cover the hair, but the pink could not be hidden very easily.

"Dear old Roger received a gift of chocolates this morning, and had an unusual side effect," George said quietly to the girls. They all chuckled.

"Thank you." Abby smiled. It did cheer her up a bit.

"We just wanted to get the old Abby back," George responded.

"How long will it last?" She asked glancing back over to Roger and giggling again.

"About a week," Fred responded with a roguish smile.

Things got better for Abby after that. Seeing Roger with pink hair for a week helped her to cheer up a bit, and slowly she was able to ignore him and move on. She was able to pay attention and her work improved dramatically. She was even smiling and laughing. Her friends were extremely relieved to see their friend return back to normal.

One evening when Abby returned back from dinner, she found all of the second years sitting together and discussing something. She knew exactly what they were trying to figure out. It was the time of year for them to pick their electives for next year. She went over and sat next to Hermione.

"So what are you thinking about picking for next year?" She asked her young friend.

"I can't decide. I think I am just going to check them all." Hermione said.

"You can't do that Hermione. No one could survive that." She frowned. She knew Hermione was studious but taking on five elective on top of the other courses required was suicidal.

"But they all sound like good choices. And how am I suppose to know which ones I will need for the future?" Hermione persistent.

"But you cannot take five extra classes. Students who take three electives have a very full schedule, I can't imagine what a schedule with five electives would look like. You would probably have to figure out how to be in two places at once. Then there is all the work for the classes. You wouldn't get any sleep at all. You cannot take all five electives." Abby insisted.

"But I can't choose!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Well first off, you do not need to take Muggle Studies. You are muggle born which means you already know everything that will be taught in the class, maybe even more." Abby argued.

"I think it would be interesting to see the muggle world through the eyes of a wizard." Hermione tried to defend her choice.

"Why don't you try and teach Ron about the muggle world and that should help you see how the wizarding world views the muggle world." Abby said with a smile. Several of the second years laughed.

"I guess you are right. I don't need to take the class." She sighed and took it off of her list.

"Good now we are down to four. I think you should take one more off of your list. Three is plenty." Abby said.

"I can't decided!" Hermione cried.

"You should look at what you are good at and what your interested in. You should pick something that interest you, otherwise the class will be torture for you to endure." Abby noticed a couple of other second year students turn their attention to her.

"But I am interested in all of them. How did you choose?" Hermione looked to Abby.

"Like you I grew up in the muggle world, so I knew that Muggle Studies was pointless. Divination is only truly beneficial to those who are Seers, although there are many who find Divination fascinating. I however am not a Seer nor do I find it interesting to learn about. I like animals so I decided to take Care of Magical Creatures. So then I just had to decide between Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

"How did you decide between the two?" Neville asked. He turned bright red when he realized he had actually voiced the question. "I mean they are both good choices."

"Arithmancy looks at the magical property of number and numerology. Numbers have never been my strong suit. I hated math class in my muggle school, and figured I would probably not enjoy it. Ancient Runes seemed more interesting to me. However that is just me, I know lots of people who like Arithmancy." Abby answered. Neville seemed soak it in and was thinking very hard.

"I always liked math class." Harry said quietly. "Maybe I'll pick Arithmancy."

"Not me," Ron said. "Seems like to much work. I am thinking Divination and Care of Magical Creatures." The boys continued to discuss the classes. Abby turned back to Hermione.

"So what do you think?"

"I think I am going to take Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures. Although I originally thought Divination would be interesting to learn, I see how the class would not really be beneficial to me, since I am not a Seer." Hermione responded.

"Good. You are still going to be plenty busy, but you are not going to end up in the hospital wing with a mental break down." Abby smiled.

"Thanks Abby. I got so caught up in the prospect of learning new things that I did not think about the logistics of it. You are right though, I probably would have gone crazy taking all of the classes."

The morning of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff game was a beautiful one. The weather was perfect for Quidditch. Abby walked down to the stadium after breakfast. This was the first time since breaking up with Roger that she walked down to a game alone. She found a spot with some other Grffindors and waited for the game to begin. However it never did.

 _"_ _This match has been canceled," Professor McGonagall called through a megaphone. "All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!"_

All around Abby the students were grumbling about the canceled game. However because of the urgency in Professor McGonagall's voice, they immediately complied with her directions. Abby saw her friends on the field, and decided to go to them and walk back with them.

"Hey, do you guys know what's going on?" Abby asked Alicia and Angelina.

"Don't know. Professor McGonagall just came and made her announcement. Then she took Potter with her." Alicia said.

"They also took our brother." George said as he and Fred walked toward them. Abby's stomach dropped. If Professor McGonagall took Harry and Ron, then chances are there was something going on with Hermione.

Abby sprinted off toward the castle, not hearing her friends yelling after her, not paying attention to the other people around her. She only focused on getting to the hospital wing as quickly as possible.

She reached the hospital wing a bit out of breath, and found McGonagall with Ron and Harry next to one of the beds. In another bed Madam Pomfrey was examining a petrified sixth-year Ravenclaw.

"Professor!" Abby as she approached them.

"Ms. Hayden, what are you doing here?" Professor McGonagal asked.

"Is it Hermione?" Abby asked, dreading the answer. McGonagal's face seemed much older then it usually did. She nodded. Abby numbly walked over to the bed and looked down at her young friend petrified.

McGonagall asked the boys some questions, but Abby did not pay attention to what they were saying. Finally their professor ushered them back to their common room.

Abby sat numbly in one of the chairs close to her friends. She was not listening to what Professor McGonagall was telling them. Finally she left, leaving the students to soak up the information she told them.

 _"_ _That's two Gryffindors down, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff," said Lee, counting on his fingers. "Haven't any of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it obvious all this stuff's coming from Slytherin? The Heir of Slytherin, the monster of Slytherin- Why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?" he roared, to nods and scattered applause._

"How are you doing?" Alicia quietly asked Abby as she sat on the arm of her chair.

"I don't know." She answered honestly. Alicia slid into the chair next to Abby and gave her a hug. "How are Harry and Ron doing?"

"Leave it to you to think of others before yourself." Alicia rolled her eyes.

"I think they're ok," George said. He placed a gentle hand on Abby's shoulder. Abby gave him a small smile.

"Looks like Percy is having a hard time with everything too." Fred said quietly. Although the twins were constantly teasing Percy, he was still their brother and cared for him.

Like everyone else in the common room, the group of six friends sat together occasionally talking about nothing of importance. Abby though did not pay attention to what her friends where talking about. Finally she could not sit there with her friends any longer.

"I think I am going to bed." Abby said abruptly. She quickly stood up and went to her dorm before her friends could say anything.

Once in her room, she pulled the drapes around her bed and lay down without changing. Abby wasn't really tired so she just laid there staring at nothing. All she could think about was Hermione. She did not know when the tears started, but she cried herself to sleep that night.

Everyone in the castle was on edge the following weeks. Students were escorted everywhere they went, and had to be in the common room in the evening. Abby stayed focused on her studies, trying to keep her mind off of everything.

Three days before exams the students were informed that the Mandrakes were ready for cutting and the petrified people would be revived. Abby was so relieved to hear this. However the excitement of this news did not last. That afternoon the voice of Professor McGonagall filled the halls telling students to return to their common room.

"Does anyone know what's going on?" Lee asked as he joined their little group in the corner. They all shook their heads.

"Do you think there was another attach?" Angelina asked.

"I am sure we will find out soon." Fred said. Abby noticed that both he and George were scanning the room for their siblings. Abby looked around too. She found Percy easily. She couldn't find Ron or Harry. She also did not see Ginny.

"Quiet down please," Professor McGonagal said as she finally came into the common room. "I have some unfortunate news. It seems that a student has been taken into the Chamber of Secrets. The Hogwarts Express will be taking you home tomorrow. As of right now, Hogwarts is closed. Everyone is to remain here until tomorrow morning. I will escort you all to the train station. I would like to see the Weasley family please."

The common room was silent. Not a sound was made during the short speech. Fred and George slowly got up and approached the professor, joined by Percy and Ron. Abby wondered where Ron had come from, because she had not seen him in the common room earlier. Everyone could tell that it was not good news, and it did not take long for people to notice the absence of the youngest Weasley.

"What's going on?" Lee asked the twins as they came back to their corner. Ron and Harry also joined them.

"Ginny was the one taken," Fred said quietly. He and George sat down on a couch while Harry and Ron found chairs nearby.

"But she is a pureblood. It doesn't make sense." Alicia said. Everyone sat quietly, not knowing what else to do. Abby wanted to help her friends, but wasn't sure how.

She did not know what compelled her to do it, but she found herself sitting on the couch next to George. She then gently placed her hand on his. He looked up and gave her a weak smile, squeezing her hand slightly. She knew that he appreciated it, and they sat there holding hands for a while.

"I'm going to bed," Fred said quietly. He got up and started to walk toward the boy's dorm. George hesitated, struggling between following his brother, or staying with Abby. He slowly let go of her hand, giving her another smile, and then followed his brother. Soon Ron and Harry also left, although Abby did not see where they went.

It was a long quiet night. Most people did not know what to do or say. Many decided to go to bed early, or to make sure everything was packed up. Finally Abby, Alicia, and Angelina decided to go up to their dorm room.


	13. The Test

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

 **The Test**

Abby, Alicia, and Angelina slowly walked up the stairs to their room. Silently they got ready for bed, even though they were not tired. Abby laid in her bed, staring off into space, absentmindedly petting her cat. She thought about poor Ginny. She was so young, and it was unfair for her to be taken and most likely would be dead soon, if not dead already. It was a hard concept to grasp.

Abby thought about the Weasleys. They had all been so quiet. She could not imagine what it would be like to lose a sibling. One Weasley boy stood out in her mind. Why was she thinking about George? Why did holding his hand to comfort him feel so comfortable? Why was she willing to do anything to bring back his smile?

Before she could think about it anymore she heard Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Attention please. Students please come to the common room." There was some confusions. Could something else have happened? But McGonagall sounded excited, not upset. The fourth-year girls walked down to the common room.

"I have some good news." She began once all the students had congregated in the common room. "Ginny Weasley has been rescued, and the threat from the Chamber of Secrets has been eliminated. We will not be closing Hogwarts. There will be a feast in the Great Hall to celebrate this joyous occasion." The smile on the professor's face made her look years younger.

It took a bit for the information to sink in, but then the common room was filled with cheering and celebrating. Abby glanced over to the group of red head boys and found the smile she wanted to see.

The whole Gryffindor tower left the common room and walked down to the Great Hall not bothering to change out of their pajamas. They were joined by the rest of the school.

The food as always was delicious. Most people had not been hungry earlier, but with the good news, everyone welcomed the food. A few minutes after the food appeared, Harry and Ron walked into the Great Hall. Most people jumped to the same conclusion that Abby had; Harry and Ron were the ones responsible for getting rid of the threat and saving Ginny. It was confirmed later on when Professor Dumbledore announce that the boys had earned two hundred points each for their heroic acts.

About an hour later, all the petrified students came in. Hermione ran over to Harry and Ron and gave them a huge hug, shouting that they had figured it out. Abby couldn't help herself, she jumped up and ran over to Hermione and engulfed her into a hug as well. The younger girl returned the hug.

With the announcements of no exams, and no more Lockhart, there was even more celebrating. The feast went all night. The professors didn't even try and stop the celebrating. Finally in the early hours of the morning students returned to their dorms to sleep.

The final days at Hogwarts went by in a flash. Before they knew it, the students were on the train returning home for the summer, knowing that they would be returning the following year.

At the station Abby searched for her mom amongst the crowd. Without a warning a hand grabbed her trunk from her hand. She turned and saw George holding it and giving her one of his crooked smiles. The twins had chosen to sit with Ron and Ginny on the train ride back so Abby had not seen him at all during the train ride.

"I… I wanted to thank you," He said quietly.

"For what?" Abby was a bit confused.

"For being there for me when we thought we had lost Ginny. I really appreciated it."

"All I did was hold your hand. You have comforted me a lot this year, it was my turn to help you." She gave him a gentle smile.

"Still, I wanted to thank you." He returned the smile. "I think I see your mom over there."

The two of them walked over to Diana. Diana smiled when she saw one of the twins helping her daughter carry her trunk. She had known that Abby was close to them, and had always wondered if at one point she would fall for one of them.

Abby took the last two paces to her mom in a single leap into her mother's arms. Diana gave a chuckle as she held her daughter close. The two of them held each other for a long moment.

"You guys have had an exciting year." She commented.

"We sure did." Abby laughed.

"Well, I better get going. I am sure my mom is looking for me. Have a good summer Abby." With that he slipped into the crowd. Abby wore a big grin on her face the whole ride home.

When they arrived home, Abby took her trunk to her room while her mom let Asha out of her basket. The Siamese stretched and scampered off to find a sunny place to sleep. When Abby came into the kitchen, her mom had tea and biscuits out on the table. She could tell by her mom's face that she had some things to discuses with her.

"I looked into the Heritage test at Gringots." Diana started. "It looks like that we can have them do the test with just one parent's permission. So if you would like, we can do that this summer."

Abby stared at her mom for a bit. When she had written her mom with the information that Hermione had found her mom said that she would look into it, but she did not want to get her hopes up. But now it was real. She could really prove to the world who her father is.

"Really?" Abby asked.

"Really. I figured when we go and get your Hogwarts books we will be going to Gringotts anyways, so we can ask them to do the test then." Diana watched as her daughters face went from joy to concern.

"What will change from taking this test?" Abby asked.

"Initially, not much. You will receive the document showing your parentage. At the bank you will be able to request access to the Potter vault. If your father was alive he would be the one to determine how much access you would have to it. But since he is not it will depend on what he put in his will."

"What if there is nothing in his will about me? It has been twelve years and no one has informed me about the family vault or anything." Abby asked.

"If he does not mention you then it will be up to the Potter heir to determine how much access you will have. That won't happen until Harry is seventeen. We can ask to see a copy of your father's will while we are there as well. There is always a copy at Gringotts as well as at the Ministry. And as his daughter you have a right to see it." Diana watched her daughter process all the new information.

"What about the Ministry? How will the Heritage test change things at the Ministry?" Abby inquired.

"Gringotts told me that it would be up to you to notify the Ministry about the change. You would need to take in the copy of the test and present it to them. Then their records would be changed accordingly. Your blood status would change from unknown half-blood to pureblood. You could officially change your name to Potter if you would want. Again, not much would change."

"But there would be a big deal about it. I mean my father was a war hero. And Harry is the Boy-Who-Lived." Abby was starting to reconsider her decision.

"Yes there probably would be a lot of press coverage on this. There would be some who would try and paint this a huge scandal. However we don't have to inform the Ministry of this right away, or ever if you want. We could just know that you have proof of who your father is." Diana smiled at her daughter. "We don't even need to do the test if you don't want to."

"Harry needs to know that I am his sister. I have been thinking about it for a while. I am not sure how he will react, but he needs to know. I am afraid he might think I am lying if I don't have proof." Abby looked to her mother for answers. Unfortunately it was one of those situations where there was no right answer.

Abby and her mom talked about the heritage test many times over the course of the summer. Her mom however had to work a lot, leaving Abby alone at home most days. It was a long and boring summer. She went and visited her grandma some days but that was just as boring as staying home. Alicia and her family went on a vacation for most of July, and then was busy with family most of August. Angelina was just as busy as Alicia. The Weasleys had won some money and gone to Egypt. She was able to keep in touch with Hermione, but she was never able to see her over the summer.

So Abby spent most of her break reading. She got her summer homework done in the first couple of weeks of school. Her mom let her go to the muggle library and get some muggle books. She also borrowed some books from her grandmother. After a while though reading became very boring.

Finally toward the end of the summer her mom had some time off and was able to take her to Diagon Alley. Abby had decided that she would take the test and have proof of who her father was. After that she was not sure what she would do.

They walked into the bank full of people. At the reality of what they were about to do, Abby suddenly was a ball of nerves. She nervously bounced on her feet waiting for a goblin to be free. Diana gently placed her hand on Abby's shoulders to try and calm her down. Finally what felt like an eternity but was only a couple of minutes, they approached the counter where a goblin was free.

"We would like to got to my daughter's vault. We would also like to have a Heritage test done on my daugheter." Diana stated.

The goblin looked at Diana and then at Abby as if they were puzzles to be solved. He then nodded his head and pulled out a piece of parchment and a silver knife.

"We will perform the test first. Then you will be taken down to her vault. Do you have her key?" He stated in a uninterested voice.

"I…I have it right here." Abby stuttered out and placed it on the counter. The goblin looked it over and handed it back. He then handed her the silver knife.

"Prick your finger and place a drop of blood on the parchment. Three would be best" With that he slid the parchment toward her.

She did as he said and pricked her finger. She let three drops fall onto the parchment and watched the blood get soaked up. Then lines started to appear on the parchments. She watched as her mother's name started to form and then next to that was the name JAMES POTTER. She never doubted her mother, but to have proof was a whole new thing. She did not pay attention to the other names that appeared, she just stared at her father's name.

The goblin, after taking the knife and cleaning it, looked at the parchment and had to take a second look. He did not say anything, but there was an obvious look of surprise. The Potter family was well known, and according to the goblin records there was only one Potter heir. After getting over his shock and the words stopped forming, he made a copy of the paper and handed the original to Diana.

"Is there anything else before you go down to your daughter's vault?"

"Could we see her father's will?" Diana said, being careful not to say his name and draw more attention to it.

"One moment," The goblin left and was gone for quite a while. When he returned it was with another goblin.

"Ms. Hayden I am afraid that your request is unable to be fulfilled. It seemed that Mr. Potter's will has been sealed and we do not have a copy, which means it was not read at the time of his death. We will look into the matter and get back to you." The other goblin said carefully.

Both Diana and Abby stared at the goblin. Diana nodded to show she understood what he had revealed. They were then ushered to the carts and taken to Abby's vault to retrieve some money for her supplies and some spending money for the year.

By the time they were outside the bank, Abby felt as if they had spent the whole day there and wanted to just go home. However there were supplies to get.

"Where should we go first?" Her mother asked.

"How about I get my books, and you go get my potion supplies. If we divide and conquer we will get this done quickly and can go home." Diana smiled and agreed to the plan. They were able to get everything done in an hours time. They decided to reward themselves with an ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream.

Sitting at a table with some schoolbooks and a big ice cream in front of him was Harry Potter.


	14. The Truth Revealed

Sorry about the long wait. I had some major writer's block with this chapter. I am still not completely happy with it, but I decided to publish it and move on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

 **The Truth Revealed**

Abby suddenly stopped as she saw Harry sitting at the table in front of her. It took her mom a couple of steps to realize that Abby had stopped. Diana turned and looked at her daughter, wondering why she had stopped. She then turned and saw who her daughter was looking.

"You said you wanted to tell him, right?" Diana said quietly to Abby as she stepped closer to her daughter.

"What? Today?" Abby stared at her mother. "I can't tell him today!"

"Why not? He is right here. It doesn't get any easier then that. And I doubt that you two would be able to talk privately at school very easily. It might be good to have me around to answer some questions he may have."

"But mom, we can't here in the middle of Diagon Alley!" Abby looked around at all of the people around them. Although most people were in their own little world and not paying attention to them, this was not a conversation she wanted someone to accidentally overhear.

"We will go to the Leaky Cauldron and I can put some wards to ensure privacy. Now come on." Diana pushed her daughter toward Harry. "We don't have all day." With that initial push Abby walked up to the table.

"Hey Harry. Had a good summer?" Abby greeted the black haired boy.

"Hi Abby," Harry said as he looked up from his books. "Summer's been alright. Your?"

"Alright. Harry, this is my mom." Abby introduced her mother. Abby turned to her mother and realized she had been staring at the boy.

"I'm sorry," Diana said when she realized what she was doing. "It was just so strange to see Lily's eyes on James. I am sure you hear it often, but you look so much like your father."

"Did you know my parents? Harry asked excitedly.

"I did. I was a year ahead of them." Diana paused for a second. "Harry we were wondering if we could talk to you privately."

"Sure," Harry responded hesitantly.

"We can go to the Leaky Cauldron. It will be more private there." Diana said.

"But there are always people there." Harry said as he closed his books. He took a couple more bites from his ice cream.

"Yes but most the people there are used to privacy wards being put up there. If you put them up here in the middle of the alley it will draw more attention." Harry nodded and stood up. Once he had all of his books together the three of them walked to the Leaky Cauldron.

Diana requested a table in a corner of the pub. Once they were seated with a drink Diana made sure that no one would be able listen in on their conversation or read their lips. Then they sat in silence for a couple of seconds. Diana looked at her daughter who was currently examining her glass very closely. Diana sighed knowing that she would have to give her another little push.

"Sometimes it's best if you just blurt out what you want to say." Diana said quietly to her daughter. Abby took a deep breath.

"Harry…I'm…I'm your sister." She stuttered out. Harry stared at her for a moment.

"Your what?" Harry said, not sure he heard right.

"I'm your sister. Well technically your half-sister. You and I have the same father."

"You mean my dad is also your dad?" He was confused. He looked to Diana for confirmation. She nodded and explained.

"Like I said before your father was a year behind me at Hogwarts. Before he got together with your mother, he and I… well we saw each other for a bit." Diana said.

"So you two dated and then…" Harry realized what it meant that they "saw each other". Diana smiled at the look of disgust on his face as he realized that his father was actually a sexually being.

"We broke up right before I left school and before I found out I was pregnant. I informed your father but we decided not to get back together. He then fell in love with your mother and well you know the rest."

"How come I have never been told that you are my sister before?" Harry looked back to Abby.

"Mom only told my grandparents and I don't know if my… our dad told anyone else about me. It is possible that no one ever knew I was James's daughter."

"Why now? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Because I wanted to be able to prove it if you if you did not believe me." She pulled out the parchment she received earlier. "Mom and I went to Gringotts earlier and I took a heritage test."

Harry stared at the parchment. He looked at his father's name connected to Abby's name.

"So… you are my sister. What does this mean? How does this change things?" Harry took his eyes off of the parchment and looked to Abby.

"That's up to you. If you want we can go back to the way it was before. We are in the same house and we kind of know each other. Or we can get to know each other and be brother and sister." Abby watched as Harry stared at his nearly empty cup. She let him think for a couple of minutes.

"In my first year, I came across this mirror that shows you what your deepest desire is. You want to know what I saw?" Harry looked up. Abby urged him to keep going. "I saw myself with a family. My parents next to me and countless other relatives behind me. That is what I have always wanted. I have always wanted a family." Harry looked back down at his cup, embarrassed at what he had just said.

"What about your relative you live with?" Abby curiously asked.

"They are not my family. They only take care of me because they feel obligated." Harry said quietly into his cup. Both Abby and Diana's hearts broke when they heard this.

"Well, you have a family now. I am your sister." Abby smiled at him.

"I don't know how to be a brother." He said quietly.

"It's ok, I really don't know how to be a sister. We will learn together." The smile on Harry's face was the biggest one Abby had ever seen on him. Diana saw the smile she had seen so many times before. Then his smiled dropped.

"What about the Daily Prophet? They are going to make a big deal about this aren't they?"

"Right now we are the only ones who know. And I guess the goblins." Abby answered her brother.

"Does the ministry know?" Harry asked apprehensively.

"No. They will only be informed if we take the test to them and show proof." Diana answered. "Abby and I decided that the first step would be to inform you and then the two of you can decided when to inform the ministry, if you want to at all."

"That's good." Harry let out a sigh of relief. "I like the fact that I have a sister, but I am not sure I am ready for everyone to know. I know that people will make a big deal about it."

"I know." Abby gave him a small smile. "I have a feeling they will make it into a huge scandal and who knows what they will start calling me." The two of them stat there for a bit thinking about this.

"There are a couple of other things we need to talk about Harry." Diana said after a little bit bringing the two out of their thoughts. Both Abby and Harry looked up at her. She turned and addressed Harry. "First I wanted to tell you about your parent's will."

"My parent's will?"

"We asked to look at it at Gringotts and they informed us that they do not have a copy. It means that somehow the will was sealed after they died before it was read."

"Are you sure they even had a will? Maybe they don't have a copy because there is no will." Harry said.

"They definably had a will. The Potter heir would have to have a will. Your parents also knew that You-Know-Who was after them so they would have wanted to make sure everything was in order if something happened to them."

"What do you mean by the Potter heir?" Harry asked. Diana looked him over and realized he did not know much about his parents.

"The Potter family is one of the oldest and riches in Brittan. Your dad was the last of the Potters, that is until you were born."

"I have been in my vault. There is a lot in that vault, but I would not consider it a great fortune." Harry said and was a bit offended when Diana chuckled at his comment.

"Harry, that vault is just your trust vault. It is money set aside for you to have to make sure you have what you need for Hogwarts. Abby has one too. That is not the Potter vault. You will have access to it when you turn 17." Diana could not help but chuckle again at the flabbergasted face Harry wore. He could not believe it.

"Mom, what I don't understand is how the will could have been sealed. How does that happen?" Abby asked.

"The way things work is that wills are filed at the ministry. When the person dies the will is read in front of as many of the people in the will as they can gather. Then a copy is sent to Gringotts, since most of the time the wills have to do with people's money. Anyone who is related to the person or is named in the will may request to see the copy at Gringotts." Both Harry and Abby nodded showing their understanding.

"Sometimes a will can be sealed if there are some investigations surrounding the death," Diana continued. "I know there are a few other reasons why a will might be sealed, but usually it is only for a few months until things are figured out. Wills usually are not sealed for years."

"So why was my parent's will sealed?" Harry asked.

"The goblins did not have an answer but they did say they will be looking into it. I will keep you informed but I wanted you to know what was going on."

"Thank you." Harry said quietly. Diana did not realize how much it meant to Harry that she was being open and honest with him. "You said there were a couple of things you wanted to talk to me about. What was the other thing?"

"I wanted to talk to you, to both of you, about Sirius Black." Diana said.

"The guy that broke out of the prison and has been all over the newspapers?" Harry asked curiously.

"That's him. He was a friend of your father."

"He was?" Harry and Abby exclaimed.

"They were best friends, almost brothers. They were always together, usually causing trouble. After Hogwarts they both joined the fight against You-Know-Who. After you were born Harry, your parents had to go into hiding. They used a charm called the Fidelius Charm. It conceals a secret inside of a person. Someone is chosen as the Secret Keeper and only they can choose to reveal the secret. Your parent's location was put under the charm and Sirius was chosen as the Secrete Keeper."

"Sirius gave up your parent's location to You-Know-Who." Diana continued. "He also went after another one of your father's close friends and killed several muggles."

"How did he escape?" Harry asked.

"No one knows how he escaped. But he did and I know I am not the only one that thinks he is after you." Diana said gently, hoping she was not scaring the boy.

"Because I survived?"

"That is my guess." She reached out and put her hand on his arm. She noticed that he tensed up a bit. She wasn't sure if he was just startled by the gesture or if he is unused to physical touch.

"That explains why I wasn't punished for blowing up aunt Marge." Harry said quietly.

"You blew up your aunt?" Abby asked a bit louder then she attended to. Thankfully because of the wards no one noticed.

"She isn't my aunt. But yeah, I blew her up. She was talking about my parents and I got upset. Next thing I knew She was swelling up and floating away. Before my uncle could do anything I grabbed my things and left. When I showed up here the minister was here and he said they took care of everything and that I was to stay here for the rest of the summer."

Abby stared at her little brother in disbelief. Most young wizards stopped doing accidental magic once they started Hogwarts. He must have been really upset for him to lose control.

"The minister probably was just relieved that you were not found by Sirius. Harry, if you need anything you can always send me an owl. I will try and help anyway I can." Diana said. "I may not be a relative, but I will be there for you."

"Could you…" Harry started but did not finish his thought.

"What would you like?" Diana asked gently. Harry hesitated.

"Could you tell me about my parents." He said after a bit. "I mean not right now, but sometime. I don't know much about them."

"How about I send you some letters with some stories about them. Maybe you can even come over sometime and we can talk about them."

Diana watched the young man in front of her look down at his empty glass, trying to hide the fact that he had tears in his eyes.

"Well, it has been a long day. We should get going." Diana took down the wards, giving Harry some time to compose himself. When they all stood up Abby went over to Harry and gave him an awkward side hug. "How about we pick you up on September 1st. I can drive you to Kings Cross."

Harry gave her a smile and a nod.


End file.
